The Angel Slaying King
by 7thManiac
Summary: Shinji Ikari, pilot of Unit-01 & Third Child of NERV opens his eyes but that doesn't makes sense. He should be dead, he had made his last stand and he had died. What greeted him is the sight of a young girl with long lavender hair and kind eyes. She is Pandora, the all knowing woman and she gives him an offer: To live again as her bastard child, as a King, a god slayer, a Campione!
1. Prologue: Breaking Point

**Prologue: Breaking Point**

 **December 31, 2015**

 **Geofront Floor, Geofront, Tokyo-3**

Shinji Ikari, Third Child of NERV and pilot of the Test-Type Evangelion, Unit-01 sat in the command seat of the his Eva's entry plug, the typically orange LCL the filled the plug tinted a bloody red.

By blood.

His blood.

He had been badly injured in his fight against the white Mass Production Evangelions.

He's dying and he knows it.

Everyone he cared about and who cared about him is seemingly gone, Misato too taken with her obsession over Kaji's death, Asuka now comatose whil Rei died during the battle against the 16th Angel, sacrificing herself when it started to infect her Unit-00.

Oh she had 'come back' miraculously but she had been…different. She was colder, quieter even more distant.

She was Rei but she wasn't… _his_ Rei.

Even Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child and the pilot who replaced Asuka as the pilot of Unit-02, one of the few people to have genuinely loved him had turned out to be not a human at all.

His true identity had been the 17th and final Angel and during his attack Shinji had been forced to kill him.

The last person who cared about him, genuinely, truthfully cared about him and he had killed him.

For what?

Why did he kill the only person to have admitted that they _loved_ him?

Why, for the good of humanity of course.

The humanity that seemingly refused and rejected him again and again.

What. A. Fucking. Joke.

Then the JSSDF attacked.

They had invaded the Geofront and NERV Headquarters itself, killing all in their path. They gunned down hundreds of NERV's personnel, taking no prisoners as they assaulted through the structure, sweeping every room with extreme prejudice.

Then the soldiers had finally got to him, slumped against the wall in a hallway in the medical wing, on the verge of finally breaking, on the edge of insanity.

* * *

 ***Flashback: 40 Minutes Ago***

 **Medical Wing, NERV HQ, Tokyo-3**

He felt the cold steel of a gun barrel up against his forehead.

*bump* *bump*

Then the soldier spoke to him.

"Nothing personal kid."

Shinji had to wonder who was he saying that to?

Shinji? Did he really think the person he's going to kill, going to execute, not giving him a fighting chance? Not giving him a say on his own destiny? Will forgive him because of that?

Or did he say that mostly to himself and maybe his men? To try and sooth their conscience of the fact that they're about to end a young life, a life of a boy young enough to be their son. Well if that's the case then he can kind of relate, killing Kaworu still haunted him.

*bump* *bump*

Shinji could hear the man's glove as he started to pull the trigger.

*snap!*

And something broke in Shinji in that moment.

 _'Is this it? Is this how I'm going to die?_

 _ **IS THIS HOW I'M GOING TO DIE? IS THIS HOW I'M GOING TO END?**_

 _ **SHOT, ALONE AND BROKEN. REJECTED BY A WORLD THAT DOESN'T WANT ME?**_

 _ **WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?**_

 _ **FUCK. THAT.**_

 _ **IF THE WORLD WANTS ME DEAD…'**_

Just like his father wanted, just like the council of SEELE wanted, the Third Child had finally broken, just like their scenarios had called for.

… _ **I'M GOING TO TAKE AS MANY AS I CAN WITH ME!**_

Only he had not broken in the way they had wanted him to.

Shinji quickly grabbed the rifle barrel and jerked it to the side, just in time to avoid having his head blown off and he looked up. He could see the surprise in the soldier's eyes but it barely registered as Shinji saw red, his head filled with a mad rage.

Why did no one ever seem to care for him? Why did the world constantly put his life in danger? What had he done to deserve this?!

Fight or flight, an instinct ingrained in every human, a programmed response to danger.

Fight, to stand one's ground and meet danger, to confront it and attempt to triumph over it.

Flight, to run, to flee and get away from danger.

Flight, to run had always been Shinji's preferred response to danger or trouble of any kind.

But with his back against the wall, with no one left and nowhere left to run to, on the brink of insanity and perhaps even having crossed into it he had chosen to fight.

If the world didn't want him, fine!

 **But Shinij Ikari will not go quietly into the night.**

Without thinking, using the instinct that having fought the Angels had ingrained in him, instincts he had never known he had he punched the soldier in the groin, eliciting a pained gasp from the man. As the soldier slumped on top of him Shinji grabbed the knife sheathed on his hip drew it and slid the blade into the man's side before giving the knife a twist, tearing skin, ripping muscle and enlarging the wound. Noticing that the rest of his fireteam, three other men, are starting to get out of the shock induced by his sudden act of violent defiance, he used the hand not holding the knife and grabbed the soldier's holstered pistol and drew it.

*bang!* *bang!* *bang!*

After putting a bullet into each of the soldier's heads, a part of him absently mindedly thanking NERV for putting so much time and effort into honing in his aim over the war, the three other commandos slumped to the ground. Shinji heaved the soldier still slumped over him off of him, the man impacting the ground with a thump.

Shinji bent over and was about to start grabbing some spare ammunition for the pistol but a pained gasp stopped him. He looked up to the face of the soldier and was surprised to see him still breathing, impressive considering the gaping hole in his side.

"P-please," the man begged, bringing his hand in front of him in a weak gesture to protect himself from the suddenly intimidating child slowly walking up to him. "S-spare…m-me."

Shinji looked at the man. Not just absently either but _really_ looked at him as the mad almost berserk rage starting to fade but still present.

Shinji aimed the pistol at the man's head, right between the eyes.

"Please!" the man screamed for mercy, mercy he probably did not show the NERV personnel that he killed on his way to him Shinji thought. _'Mercy he would not show me.'_

No, he could not let this man go. If he were to kill Shinji then that would be fine with the Third Child, three elite commandos being taken down with him wasn't bad. But if he hurt Asuka whose still comatose in the same medical ward he's currently in then he wouldn't forgive himself. Even if she left him alone he still cared for her.

With a sense of cold detachment he squeezed the trigger.

* * *

Sergeant Kuemon Kawahara of the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force's Third Special Forces Group watched in horror as he looked into the eyes of the boy, _no_ , monster? Devil? That stood over him aim the pistol, _his¸_ pistol at him.

He looked into Death's eyes and what he saw chilled him to the very core.

In the eyes where innocence of a child should be, where the hope of youth should be he saw none of those things.

What he did see was _rage_ , pure and unbridled.

Despair, the deepest darkest depths of human despair.

Loneliness, crushing loneliness.

And what frightened him the most was the hint of pure _madness_ glittering in those steel blue eyes.

He's dead and he knows it now.

The last thing he thought of as the boy pulled the trigger was his comrades. Of the army now storming the floor of the Geofront, intelligence had known that the Second Child was comatose so his team had been told to hunt down the Third Child, the last Evangelion pilot.

A mission he's obviously failed.

He thought of the army outside and what would happen when an Evangelion would be unleashed upon his comrades.

He had seen videos of the Evangelions in action during the pre-attack briefing and it had made his blood run cold, those _things_ were fucking monsters.

He thought of his comrades that would soon face one of those monsters and just before the bullet killed him he thought…

' _May God have mercy on us all.'_

 ***Flashback Ends***

* * *

Shinji had fought, in his Evangelion, in his Unit-01, he had fought like he had never fought before.

As the army came with their tanks and their soldiers and their guns he fought.

He laughed as the tank shells bounced off his AT fields and he responded by crushing their tanks, smashing their men and destroying their army. Finally, all the anger he had suppressed, he had hidden behind his quiet side had been allowed to rampage, to go berserk and _destroy._

It was absolutely cathartic for the Third Child.

Then the ceiling exploded and the nine white Evangelion descended like angels of death, fat red lips parted in a toothy grin, each wielding a massive double-edged sword.

He had fought them with all the skill of an experienced warrior, the grace of a dancer and the fierceness and determination of a berserker, his synchronization with Unit-01 the highest it had ever been since the battle with the 14th. He had punched them, kicked them, stabbed them and cut them. He had crushed their flesh with the strength of a God, ripped them apart with his Unit's bear hands.

In the massive underground cavern that is the Geofront, amongst the wreckage of the army he had crushed he fought his last stand, his own Battle of Thermopylae, his Tirad Pass, his Alamo.

And he had won.

As fatigue started to set in, as the adrenaline started to flow out of his system his Eva collapsed on the ground. So great was his synchronization, his link with his Eva that the wounds suffered by his massive titan had manifested on his body. His left arm had been shredded and bled while a gash in his side leaked his red life blood into the LCL that filled the plug.

Then it happened.

The bone white Evangelions started to rise up one by one, the damage quickly regenerating.

He tried to get up but they threw theirs swords at him, shifting into spears that cut through his AT Field like butter and they pierced his Unit-01.

That's where he found himself now, pinned by nine of the shape shifting spears, on his back on the floor of the Geofront.

Four going through his Unit-01's torso and another going through the left eye, two in his already shredded left arm, and one in each leg. He had to admit they hurt, a lot, it felt like his flesh burned from nothing but contact with the gray spears.

The nine white Evas circled above him, wings extended like vultures.

Two of the descended and landed beside him and Shinji noted how they tried to gently as possible remove one of the spears, like they didn't want to damage his Eva. Did they plan to capture him or something? Did they wan't something from him?

He won't make it easy for them as he still trashed and clawed at them with the one good arm he had left and he smiled when he managed to somehow grab one of he Eva's head and crushed it with a sickeningly wet 'crunch!'.

He saw three of the most heavily damaged enemy Evangelions open their jaws, and lick their red lips with their tongues as they descended to feast on him. They tore into his left arm first but he didn't scream. He grit his teeth so hard that he heard them crack but he will _not_ scream.

He refused to give these monsters the satisfaction. Even as more and more descended he would not- **WILL NOT** scream.

He could feel the monstrosities tear into his innards, gouge out his intestines as they dug into him like hyenas. Shinji felt them bite into his flesh, slowly tear off chunks, seemingly savoring the taste. He could feel them chewing on his bones and ripping into his muscles.

But what he found the worst is the _sound._

*crunch* *crack* *snap* * _riiiiip*_

Over and over again the terrible sounds repeated as he vaguely registered Misato's voice coming through the link with the command bridge he had ignored until now.

Obviously they had deemed him too much of a threat to try to capture, a small part of him found some twisted satisfaction at that though.

Feeling pain in his abdomen and seeing an influx of blood flow and mix into the LCL from there he wisely decided that looking down won't be a good idea. He did not need his last memory to be the image of his own intestines and organs being shredded, the sight of his Eva's innards being enough for his short life time.

Then the last of the white vultures came down, descended and he _smiled_. It wasn't the small shy smile he tended to show, it wasn't warm or genuine either but filled with a mad happiness.

Yes, this is his last stand.

You're not supposed to survive those.

And if the world truly hated him?

If no one will love him, if no one will accept him, if this world truly wanted to reject him, then so be it.

But for once in his own life, and probably for the last time in his own life, Shinji Ikari will choose his destiny.

The Battle of Shiroyama where at the end when defeat was imminent the last of the samurai charged, swords drawn, into the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army.

The Battle of Camaron where 65 French Foreign Legion soldiers fought against a force of around 3000 Mexican soldiers, a mix of cavalry and infantry. A battle where when only five Legion soldiers were left, when their ammunition had run dry, they fixed bayonets and charged.

Yes, like the last of the samurai, like the brave men of the Legion Shinji Ikari will not go quietly into the night!

Shinji reached down and pressed a button located at the side of his entry plug's command seat.

*click*

He looked down and saw a handle. It was striped yellow and black with 'DANGER' stenciled onto the handle. Shinji wrapped his one good hand around the cold steel handle and pressed the trigger like switch, the safety and he smiled.

Unit-01's self-destruct is now armed and ready.

A thought popped into Shinji's mind.

Did his father plan this? Did the bastard king of NERV plan all this? Did he have some kind of scheme that revolved around him breaking? Is that why he sent him to an uncle that didn't love him? He did overhear his uncle mentioning once that his father had given him instructions not to let Shinji have friends, to do all in his power to make sure that he's isolated.

He had asked his uncle about it the next morning and the man had just brushed him off and left it at that but if his father did have a plan, whatever it may be, it would all make sense, that he lived the life he did.

Shinji couldn't help but laugh at the thought of that being the case, what kind of man centres a plan on the actions of an insane child?

Well whatever may be the case, he won't have to worry about any of that for long.

Like the samurai at Shiroyama, the Legion at Camaron, the Filipino soldiers at Tarid Pass, the Americans at the Alamo and the legendary Spartans at Thermopylae he will go down in history for this.

Let it be forever known in the annals of history that Shinji Ikari, Third Child of NERV, the broken and lonely son of Yui Ikari did not go silently into the night.

That he went kicking and screaming, taking all nine of these monsters with him.

That for once in his life he did not run.

That for once in his life he fought to the last.

Shinji gripped the handle tighter and he gasped as the pain faded. He felt…warm, at peace even. He felt something sooth him and his eyes widened.

He knew this feeling and he couldn't help but cry as he murmured...

"Mom. You never left me did you?"

Well at least, in the end, he won't be alone.

He pulled the switch and his world was bathed in light.

And Shinji Ikari died.

* * *

 **?, ?**

"Ungh" Shinji groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. "W-where am I?"

He opened his eyes and all he saw was…white. Lifting himself up to a sitting position he saw the floor he's resting on is white and he seemed to be surrounded by a white fog.

He couldn't help blink at that, "am I in Heaven? I…kinda thought I would be sent to hell."

With all the people he killed in his last moments, whether he was justified or not he was sure he wouldn't be allowed past the pearly white gates.

"Hello young man," a soft feminine voice came from behind and Shinji couldn't help but be struck with how the voice sounded.

The voice was soft, kind, caring and…motherly. Shinji didn't know why he pegged the voice as that, not even remembering how his own mother sounded like but he just…knew.

He turned around towards the source and standing before him was a girl. She seemed to be a bit shorter than Shinji himself if he were to stand. She had pointed ears like an elf, beautiful and kind looking grey eyes and long lavender hair styled into two long tails, secured with white ribbons. She wore a pure white strapless dress with detached white sleeves and a pair of pearl white shoes.

"I-is…this Heaven? Are you an Angel?" Shinji hesitantly asked.

"Fufufu my what a flatterer," the girl giggled. She noticed the venom that he obviously tried to hide leak into his quiet and tired voice when he mentioned 'Angel' but she gave it no mind, she knows what he's been through. She would've been surprised if he hadn't showed any anger at the term if anything.

"No and no I'm afraid," she answered him. "I am the all giving woman, Pandora."

Shinji blinked a few times, "as in _the_ Pandora? From the story of Pandora's box?"

And he thought his life couldn't get any crazier. He discreetly pinched himself…and it hurt. Yup he's not dreaming. Well…at least he's not getting eaten alive anymore so there' at least _one_ plus.

"The one and only," she smiled.

"…um Pandora-san…what's going to happen to me now?"

Pandora walked over and sat herself beside Shinji, smile still on her face, with her long lavender tails pooling around her.

"Now that is a tricky question," she pouted at him.

' _This all feels so…surreal,'_ thought Shinji. One minute he goes on a suicidal rampage (one that ended with him getting ripped to shreds and exploding) and the next he's…here. Talking to a nice girl in the middle of…somewhere, perhaps the afterlife, and _not_ having something try to kill him.

He slumped back on his back and took a deep breath, taking a moment to relax.

"Are you okay?"

"Just tired," he murmured before her turned to face her, she had been nice to him so far so he didn't want to be rude by lying down _and_ not looking at her as they talked.

"Well as far as what I'm going to do with you, that's tricky. You're so unlike anyone else to have come here. And the ones that you've defeated aren't the same as the ones I typically deal with."

Shinji just tilted his head in confusion, obviously not knowing what Pandora meant, an action Shinji absently thought of as Rei-like and that Pandora found adorable.

"Plus the fact you had some help," Pandora thought out loud in reference to Shinji's use of the Eva's. "I wondered does that mean you still qualify? Then when I watched through your life I saw that your battles were no easy feat, death always waiting in the shadows whenever you fought. Each encounter could have easily ended in disaster, yet against all odds, against common sense, you triumphed."

That's when Shinji realised she was talking about his life fighting the Angels in his Eva, what did that have to do with anything?

' _Even in the end when you broke you did the unexpected. You fought and fought and fought until the bitter end, against all hope, against all reason,'_ Pandora smiled, yes, she made her choice.

But, she reminded herself, he isn't like others. So, for the first time, she will ask a candidate what they want. Besides, after the life he lived, a life of being used like a pawn, not in control of his destiny she will give him the choice.

"Shinji-kun," she called him and he blinked, did he introduce himself? "I have an offer for you."

"An offer?"

Pandora nodded, "I am powerful Shinji-kun. If you want, I can give you a new life."

Shinji shot up, eyes wide, "You can resurrect me?!"

The fact that he did die wasn't a surprise, detonating an Eva made a _hell_ of an explosion and his had an S2 Engine, he never doubted his death. But he was surprised by the face that he can get resurrected, he's no messiah, just a lonely and broken child soldier. Hell he's sure his body is vapor now.

"In a way yes _but_ I have almost no sway in your universe, on your plane of existence. I can pull certain people in here with some help and after that I can bring them somewhere else but that's it. I can revive you in a different world however, a different Earth. It will be much like your own so worry not."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"But you will be changed forever," she admitted, she will not lie to him, especially when he has suffered so. "You will be marked, you will be special."

"What do you mean?"

Pandora smiled as she answered. "You will have _power_ unrivaled. You will be he who stands above mortal men. When, if you choose to take my offer, you are reborn your young body will not be able to handle your powers, not all of them at least without your body becoming unstable. Again, I haven't done anything like this, gifting someone from another plane, so I want to keep _you_ safe. And remember Shinji-kun, you will not be in the same world anymore. Even if you see someone you know they won't be the same person, not really. So, what say you son of Lilith?"

Shinji hummed in thought, ignoring the comment about Lilith for the moment. While he wasn't sure about the power part he did like the fact that she seemed honest to him. He isn't the best at telling if someone's lying or not but she just didn't strike him the type to lie to him but for the life of him he couldn't tell _why_ he felt that way…Then again she is a mythological figure, why should he even be thinking she doesn't have any crazy powers?

Maybe that's why he trusted her. Her cheerful, kind and warm personality aside the…power he sensed from her seemed to be coming from all around him as well. It mostly came from her but he could…feel a bit of it from his surroundings. He doesn't know what that means but he does know that she doesn't need to lie to him, this is her domain, she could just threaten him into doing what she wants or maybe just outright force him.

And he had to admit, after the cold and hard life he's lived it sounded _really_ nice to hear someone want to do something to keep you safe.

It reminded him of that warm safe feeling he got before he…died. The feeling that, somehow his mother was there for him in his last moments, to reassure him that he's not alone.

He will admit that he will miss some people from back in his old life though.

Like the new Rei, could he get close to her again if he still lived? It would be painful yes but eventually could he become close to her like the old Rei?

And Asuka, will she be okay? His feelings for the fiery German red head being…complicated aside he did care for her and now that he's calmed down and feeling better he knew that she didn't choose to be comatose, she didn't choose to leave him. It was the fault of the 16th Angel and not hers. And as abusive as she was she cared for him, he knew that, although she hid it well and for reasons that are lost on him.

Still, those are answers he will never have the answers to.

He's dead and Pandora herself told him she can't bring him back to life in his original universe.

…Wow he got over the fact he died a lot quicker than he would have thought he would. He had to suppress a sigh, safe to say his sense of normalcy is now destroyed forever.

Shinji looked at Pandora with a smile. While he's scared what this new life may bring he won't turn away even a _chance_ at being happy.

"I'll take it Pandora-san."

Pandora beamed a smile at Shinji, the brightest he's ever seen before lunging at him with a hug, causing the once Third Child to give out a _very_ manly 'eep'.

"I've got a new son!"

Shinji didn't really know to respond to that but he couldn't help but cry a bit…it felt nice to be wanted. It felt really nice for someone to sound happy for him to be their child, he had never once heard anything like that said with such warmth come from the bastard king of NERV.

"But," Pandora started as she pulled away from him, "before I take you away there's someone who wants to thank you."

"Who?"

Pandora smiled as she turned him around and Shinji saw a woman who reminded him of Rei. She looked older though than the quiet girl and Shinji guessed she's what Rei would look like when she reached her early-thirties to late-twenties. She was a gorgeous woman with long hair that flowed half way down her back and it had the same light blue shade that Rei had. She wore a bright white sun dress, a pair of white sandals and had a kind smiling face with beautiful violet eyes.

"Hello Shinji," she greeted him and he had to wonder, did all the women…wherever he is know his name?

"Um…Rei?" he asked, unsure, he had met (and he's convinced he's right) _two_ Reis so what's to stop a third coming from nowhere? He's already here sitting God knows where talking to _Pandora_ after exploding himself, and he had been offered a second chance at life (with power somehow) and most amazingly, he's feeling loved and wanted.

At this point he doesn't think anything can surprise him anymore.

"I am Lilith, mother of humanity," she answered, serene as ever.

…Okay, Shinji will admit, that surprised him.

Lilith just looked at her child and giggled at his wide eyed expression, she decided to leave out the part of Rei also being herself in a way, poor child looked like he may have a breakdown from the revelations he's received recently. Knowing he had already had a breakdown just before his death she didn't really want to tack on anything too crazy, besides she didn't belong here, only being here with the assistance of Pandora and a lot of her own power so she had to make this brief.

"I'm proud of you my son," she said as she kneeled down in front of him.

"You are?" he asked and both Pandora and Lilith had to frown at the sheer disbelief in his voice.

"I am. You who, through pain and suffering, still fought. You who have bested the best of Adam's children. You who have secured the Earth for the rest of my children. You who, at the end, chose to fight, how can a mother not be proud of you?"

Pandora nodded in agreement from behind Shinji, of all of the people she had adopted as her children she had to admit that Shinji made her the most proud, and that's just from before they had met, from when he's still a normal human. Yes he made mistakes, she had seen them in his memories but a good mother like herself knows to accept the faults of their children.

Shinji blinked as tears started to run down his face and he wiped them away, hearing someone say that so…honestly hit him hard. Made him think for the first time that his pain, his suffering, had been worth it.

But that did bring the question…

"What happened? After I died."

"The JSSDF surrendered. With their army lost and their Evangelions destroyed they had suffered too many casualties. Your fellow pilot, Asuka, had awoken from her coma and with the threat of another Evangelion their remaining soldiers have surrendered and withdrawn," she explained.

"So Asuka's okay," Shinji breathed out, relieved. While he knows she'll have a lot of issues to deal with he knows she's strong, that one day she'll be okay again, he just hoped she wouldn't take his death too hard. "How about Misato? And Rei?"

"They are both fine although I think Misato will be busy in the near future," she answered and Shinji nodded in understanding.

The Second Angel though decided to keep certain facts hidden from her favoured son. While Misato is indeed okay she knows that Rei, as Shinji knows her, is no more. His father had, in his vain attempt to bring the end of his own race, tried to force Rei into starting Impact with him in control. But the girl instead attempted to give control to Shinji, who she did not know had died just previously. With no one taking control and Rei struck by the grief caused by the realization that Shinji had died the blue haired young girl had instead chosen to merge with the body of Lilith deep in the bowels of NERV's Central Dogma.

And the Second Angel, the mother of mankind, became whole once more, free to finally watch over her children.

She decided to keep this from Shinji. She did not want him to grief over the disappearance of Rei, she knows her son will interpret that as her death.

"That's good," Shinji smiled in relief.

"Now I should reward you."

"R-reward me?"

Lilith smiled, "of course. A mother should reward her son when he does something good, should she not?"

"Y-yes?" Shinji wasn't really sure. It sounded right and from what he knows that is what mothers do but as someone who didn't have a mother for most of his life he didn't want to assume.

Lilith reached down and ruffled his hair and he couldn't help but blush at the attention and affection in her touch, and at that he became sure she really is the mother of humanity in his universe. She just struck him as that, motherly, even to someone who didn't have a lot of experience in that regard she couldn't help but strike him as that.

Shinji then gasped as he felt…something seemingly attach itself into the deepest part of his being. He didn't know what it was but he somehow knew it wouldn't hurt him. He looked up at Lilith, a curious look on his face.

"What was that?"

"Somethings for you to keep yourself safe with, and those you care for, in the future, should you need it." Lilith no longer had a use for The Lance and after recalling it from the Moon she saw it fit as a gift for her young warrior. While he won't be able to handle it until he grows older she did give him the ability to do something none of her other children can do to keep him safe till then. She then turned to Pandora, "thank you for helping me give those gifts to my son. I must be off, my other children need me more than ever. Please take care of him."

Then Lilith just…disappeared.

"Really, today really is an interesting day," Pandora said with a cheerful smile as she kneeled in front of Shinji. "Are you ready to be on you way now?"

Shinji nodded, now or never.

Pandora, still smiling lifted her arms up as if she's giving a grand speech and spoke in her soft and kind tone and Shinji felt power lace her words.

" ** _The black art that Epimetheus and I left behind. The sacred birth of an illegitimate child, shrouded in darkness, born of a fool and a witch. A secret rite of usurpation, only possible through the sacrifice of a god. In short, all conditions have been met. A gift from the heavens_**."

"Sacrifice of a god? When did I do that? Oh..ah, sorry for interrupting."

Pandora smiled, she liked curious children and she answered him cheerfully, "the beings you have slain, the so called Angels. Your case is a bit different however, I cannot transfer all of their power to you but you have gained most of them."

Shinji nodded, they were certainly powerful enough to be called gods although he did wonder what she meant by transferring their power to him but he decided not to interrupt again.

Pandora then gently embraced him and Shinji stiffened initially, not use to the affection before returning the act, happy tears flowing down his cheeks.

" _ **You will be reborn as a Campione. The God-slayer, the King of Kings, a**_ _ **Campione,**_ " then she whispered in his ear, "you will be reborn as my adopted son and no matter what life you may live, remember, I am always with you."

And as she finished Shinji's vision was overcome by light.

Pandora smiled as the body of her newest son faded away, off to start his new life. Usually she would erase the memories of the Campione she would reincarnate but she decided to let him keep it. With what he went through and what he may go through she thought he may need all the warmth he can get to preserve whatever sanity he had managed to put back together during their meeting.

Besides, she's his mother now isn't she? And what mother doesn't want to spoil her babies even a little?

"Are you sure you didn't want to say good bye?" Pandora asked as she stood and turned behind her.

There she saw standing a woman that resembled the form that Lilith had decided to use when she rewarded her newest Campione. She had a kind looking face like Lilith's avatar and had short brown hair that reached her chin and lively green eyes. She wore a white turtle neck sweater, grey jeans, black shoes and a white lab coat.

She is Yui Ikari, the birth mother of Shinji Ikari and the soul that was once trapped in Evangelion Unit-01.

Yui nodded her head, a sad smile on her face.

"If he knew I'm going to pass on, if he sees me we both know he won't want leave. He'll want to pass on with me."

"Even if you will never see him again? He won't be going to the same afterlife as you now if he dies."

"I am fine with that."

"Even if he may be born to a family that will not love him? Even I cannot control that."

Yui smiled, "If he wants to survive, if he has the will then anywhere could be like Heaven. He has a chance to be happy anytime if he's he's alive."

Pandora gave an understanding smile, "being a good mother isn't easy is it?"

"The things worth doing usually aren't," Yui then bowed to the mother of all Campione, "still I must thank you, for letting me see him one last time and giving that gift for me in my place."

"Your welcome," and with that said Pandora watched the mother of her new son fade and pass on.

* * *

 **Tokyo, Japan**

Shinji, now physically eight years old, opened his eyes and takes a deep breath.

Even now he found it kind of hard to believe it's been so long since his death and subsequent meeting with Pandora, or as how he liked to refer to her, Mama Pandora.

A lot has happened since then, most important is his rebirth into the Kusanagi family as…Shinji Kusanagi which he's grateful for. After responding to 'Shinji' for 14 years he would have trouble getting used to anything else. Hell he even has brown hair and blue eyes…well eye, he had heterochromia now with a red left eye and a dark blue right eye.

It came as a surprise at first, when he became physically able to actually look at a mirror but then he remembered his final moments.

How could he forget? His old life game him nightmares _all_ the damn time.

He remembered how the spears pierced his flesh, how his left eye stung as he _felt_ the grey lance pierce his eye.

Quickly he just accepted it though, Mama Pandora had told him that among the Campione (something he still hadn't found the meaning of and he had tried) he's a bit special. Maybe that's why his body has a bit of an aesthetic imperfection?

He sat up and looked at the clock.

6am in the morning, he wasn't that surprised. Living the life of an Eva pilot _and_ Japanese middle school student meant that you just got used to waking up early in the morning, even Rei was a morning person if he remembered correctly.

…Well except Asuka, she was by no means a morning person, he should know too, he's the one who had to wake up the fiery redhead most mornings.

Shinji looked around his room.

It's a fairly large room, if he were to guess a bit larger than Misato's bedroom back in Tokyo-3 and by far an upgrade to his old closet of a room. On one of the walls is a painting he had done, as he had picked up the hobby. It depicted three teens. One male with brown hair dressed in a white short sleeved dress shirt, black pants and black shoes sitting on the bottom of a set of stairs. Beside him sat a girl with long fiery red hair wearing a bright yellow sundress and blue shoes. On his other side stood a girl in a white and blue-green school girl uniform and brown shoes with a red ribbon tied around her collar, she had light blue hair.

It was a painting of Rei, Asuka and himself.

No Evas, no Angels…just themselves.

He had finished it two years ago after spending another year or two learning how to paint properly, to do his fellow pilots justice.

Other than that his room is actually fairly spars. He had a twin size bed with light green sheets and a purple blanket, after seeing those two colours on his Unit-01 almost every single day he would be lying if he said he hadn't grown somewhat attached to them.

Beside his bed is a small nightstand that has a lamp and his cellphone, just a cheap flip model for emergencies, and a charging station for said phone.

Other than that he also has a desk in the corner of the room. On it sat a laptop, again nothing fancy but a hand-me-down from his mom. A gift given to her by some suitor that she didn't need and had given to him, the only thing he's ever really asked of her now that he thought about it.

Beside it sat a notebook with a lock that he originally used as a journal. He used to use it to write his thoughts, his memories of his old life. It helped him...work through his issues, through the nightmares and all the bad thoughts and memories. Along with painting and sketching it serves as a good outlet.

Misato had told him once it's good to talk about his problems and after seeing what ignoring that advice had done to his sanity last time (destroyed it) he decided to actually use it. Granted he can't talk about it or everyone save Mama Pandora will think he's crazy so painting and writing serves as the best substitute.

Music also served a good outlet but considering Shizuka and his grandparents enjoyed listening to him play he left his instrument in the living room downstairs, an electric keyboard. He had almost decided to pick the cello up again but instead he wanted to honour his lost friend Kaworu, perhaps he'll pick up the cello again when he had enough money to buy one.

Back to the notebook though it used to be a journal but now he wrote in it from time to time writing out his old life. Kind of like an autobiography although he's writing it more like a novel. His grandfather had accidentally read it when he left it open on the kitchen table when he was six and his grandfather, impressed by the story (at the time covering events up to his arrival at NERV) suggested he try to get it published.

And so that's what has become a project of his, extra money never hurt. Granted he is making sure to tone down the story, less violent and less fucked up, he doesn't want to give anyone nightmares.

Shinji threw the blanket off of him, revealing his black shirt and grey pajama pants and hopped out of bed.

He has a day to get ready for after all.

After a quick stretch followed by a quick trip to the bathroom Shinji went down stairs to the kitchen.

Walking into the kitchen, a much more roomy kitchen than the small kitchenette Misato had he happily noted, he wasn't surprised to see that his mother had left for work without cooking breakfast or preparing lunch or doing anything really. He walked past the fridge, he saw the note his mother left but he didn't care, after all this time he knows what it'll say.

That she'll be too busy with work so she had to leave early and that she'll be off work late. Hell she probably won't even be home for dinner, off with some guy trying to woo her and get in her panties by throwing wine and gifts at her.

In his eight years of new life he only remembers being held by his mother as a baby. The moment he became old enough to be babysat bam! He can't even recall the last time she hugged him or did anything he imagined normal mothers did.

He shook his head clear, no use making himself upset. Shinji took a deep breath, Mama Pandora wouldn't want him gettting upset and even today he still remembered the warmth in her voice.

Even if his birth mother didn't act like one he still had his adoptive mother.

"Well," Shinji started as he started to heat up a pan, "time to cook breakfast."

The ex-Third Child of NERV couldn't help but smile, he always did enjoy cooking!

*ding* *dong*

Shinji blinked in surprise. He looked at the clock, _'who would be coming this early?'_

Shutting off the stove Shinji walked to the front door and opened it.

"Good morning Shinji-chan," a female voice greeted and Shinji looked up and recognised her.

Chiyuki Konya, a cute 19 year old girl that lived nearby, down the street. She had long flowing black hair, a beautiful face he had never seen do anything but smile, hazel nut brown eyes and a slim build. She's the stereotypical yamato nadeshiko, the ideal of Japanese female beauty and while Shinji would admit he had more of a thing for western girls (especially redheads) he would never deny she's one of the prettiest people he had ever met, old life or new life. Currently she's dressed in a dark green blouse, comfortable looking blue jeans and black shoes.

She used to be Shinji's babysitter and to this day drops by to check on Shinji and his little sister quite often.

"Good morning Chiyuki-nee," Shinji said with a bow. "How can I help you this morning?"

"Mouh," she pouted before ruffling his hair, causing him to lightly blush, she knew he would do that of course but Chiyuki always found that adorable. "Can't I drop by to check on my favorite little man this early in the morning?"

"N-no of course you can but…isn't it too early?"

Chiyuki sighed at that, she hates early mornings but what can she do? She has a lecture in an hour, much to her chagrin.

"Yes it is early but I thought I should let you know I can't pick up your sister from pre-school today," she clapped her hands together in front of her and bowed. "I'm sorry Shinji-chan! But Papa has a meeting today and he can't go to the meeting! You know how old he's getting right? And it's important! Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

Shinji took a step back in surprise before waving his head in front of himself in a placating gesture.

"I-it's fine! Really! So you can stop bowing now Chiyuki-nee. I have nothing to do after school anyway so I can just kill time at the park before going to pick her up! Really it's fine! I'm her big brother anyway so it's fine!"

"…really?"

Shinji sighed before giving the older woman a smile, "yes really."

He understood she had her responsibilities. While most people wouldn't know, Shinji did, Chiyuki is the daughter of the boss of the local…chivalrous organization and therefore the heiress.

Yup, a real life yakuza princess.

They actually owned a fair number of the local businesses and are surprisingly friendly, to Shinji and his family at least. Actually her father is a friend of his grandfather and their publishing company is the one set to publish his novel when he finishes it.

Chiyuki was about to walk away but froze half way through the motion, mid-step, when Shinji called out to her.

"Oh!" Shinji started, "would you like to have breakfast? I haven't started yet so you'll have to wait a bit but it shouldn't take too long." Shinji had to offer, he really did enjoy cooking for other people. First for Misato and Asuka and it kind of just grew from there.

Chiyuki's eyes widened.

Breakfast?

Cooked by Shinji? She looked at her watch and cringed, she _really_ needed to get to her lecture…but then again _Shinji's cooking_ is the stuff of _legends._

' _Okay,'_ she thought to herself, _'I'll humor him for a bit and then respectfully decline! He'll understand, he's always been mature.'_

She turned to her little brother figure with a smile, "what are you cooking Shinji-kun?"

Yes, she'd pretend to entertain the idea so as not to appear rude then tell him the truth and she'll be off to class!

Shinji just shrugged, "Shizuka's favorite, my chocolate chip pancakes."

Chiyuki's mind froze, _'well…fuck!'_

"I'd love to have breakfast with you," she said with a smile and Shinji smiled in return as he showed her in.

While she hadn't tried his pancakes yet she already knows it will be illogically, impossibly good.

Classes be damned! She will not deny herself the breakfast of the gods.

* * *

Ichirou Kusanagi, grandfather to one Shinji Kusanagi parked his car in front of his daughter's home and shut down the engine.

"I wonder what Shinji is cooking for breakfast?" he wondered to himself with a smile.

"Ichirou!" a voice from beside him and he turned to the passenger seat to his wife Chiyo. "You shouldn't mooch off of your grandson's breakfast."

"Ah ha ha ha," he awkwardly chuckled, "of course dear."

After helping his wife out of the car they proceeded to the front door and Ichirou fished out the keys from his pocket and opened the door.

"Shinji-kun! It's Grandpa and Grandma!" he announced as he and Chiyo entered and took off their shoes before proceeding inside.

And what greeted them both made them both smile, Chiyo's smile a bit embarrassed but she couldn't help it, their grandson cooked so well that they had to be careful when they ate out.

Most restaurants just paled in comparison.

"I'm in the kitchen!" A small muffled voice responded and they headed to the kitchen, not really surprised that he's up so early. For as far as they could remember, and they could remember pretty far even at their age, that Shinji had always been a morning person.

What did surprise them is to see a familiar black haired brown eyed beauty sitting at the table, a half-eaten stack of pancakes covered in syrup and a glass of milk in front of her.

"Hello Ichirou-san, Chiyo-san," the girl bowed respectfully from her seat. "Good morning."

"G-good morning Chiyuki," Chiyo said in surprise while her husband greeted her normally, "don't…you have class this morning?"

The yakuza princess blushed and looked away, "n-no…"

Chiyo sat down beside her husband as they both chuckled at the university student's sense of priorities.

Ichirou then looked into the kitchen to see his grandson, already changed into his school uniform of a white short sleeved shirt tucked into black pants held up by a brown belt. Of course the small child couldn't reach the stove so he had to stand on a stool and a few old phone books as he flipped pancake after pancake like…well, child's play.

"Munyah," a cute yawn got their attention and all three at the table turned towards the bottom of the stairs.

Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in comfortable pink pajamas is a sleepy little girl still trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes with one hand while dragging the light blue rabbit plushy Shinji bought for her birthday with the other. She has short brown hair and emerald green eyes.

Her name is Shizuka Kusanagi, the four year old little sister of Shinji Kusanagi.

"Good morning Shizuka-chan," all three at the table greeted and Shizuka gave them all a half-asleep nod before waddling over to the kitchen, blue rabbit in tow and standing behind her brother.

Shinji of course noticed this and flipped off the last pancake onto a plate like a pro before shutting off the stove and the ventilation hood and climbing down and giving his baby sister a warm hug and a pat on the head. Shinji loves his sister, even without his birth mother at home most of the time he's happy as long as he has his sister.

With her he has the family he never had in his old life, even if it's not exactly how he imagined his family to be. After his old life he's learned to appreciate the good things no matter how simple.

"Good morning imouto," Shinji warmly greeted her with a smile as Shizuka tightened her hold on her brother.

"Good morning Onii-chan," she sleepily mumbled into her brother's chest.

The three adults at the table couldn't help but smile at the sight that's almost too adorable for words.

Chiyuki, sensing a perfect opportunity, pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture.

"Chiyo-san do you want me to get a copy printed out for you?"

"Yes please," she responded.

Ichirou just smiled. He knows Shinji doesn't like his mother at all. While Ichirou would never tell his daughter to quit her job, she's a good modern professional woman and he's proud of that, but he did wish she actually played a part of a mother. Take some time off to spend time with her children, stop seeing one of her suitors and instead have dinner with her kids, or hell just hold them at night and wish them sweet dreams. Even then he isn't sure if Shinji would let her do the last two things or just kick her away, and considering his grandchild practices martial arts it might be quite a mean kick. He dreads the day when she finds out that her son borderline hates her, he knows she loves her children, she works for them after all but he had to admit she's not too great at showing that.

' _Will you forgive her Shinji?'_ Ichirou found himself asking, _'or is it already passed the point of no return?'_

When he had asked Shinji what he thinks of his mother…he still remembered what the then five year old had said.

"She gave birth to me and my baby sister so I'm grateful for that I guess."

That said it really did seem for all the love and affection he refused to give to his mother and father (now divorced, who he knows Shinji positively _loathes_ ) he loved his sister to an equal and maybe even greater amount.

Shinji turned to his grandfather as he gently pried his younger sister off of him and escorted her to the table.

"Grandpa can you get the pancakes please?"

"Of course," Ichirou replied with a smile.

* * *

 **Later That Day**

Shinji walked into a park nearby his elementary school. School had just ended for him and he still had time before he had to pick up Shizuka from pre-school, she started later than him so he had time to kill.

Hence the park.

People tended to avoid this park like the plague for some reason and for the life of him Shinji can't tell why. He had only ever seen some couples go into the park and they were just seeking a place to…get intimate.

Which is why it served his purpose so perfectly.

When he had ended up in this new world he was born with knowledge. It was strange at first, to have knowledge just _be_ in your head but he had just likened it to what Mama Pandora told him about having the power of gods, or the Angels in his case.

He even had a name for them.

His first ability is called **Fruit of the Messengers**. It's a mostly passive ability that grants him increased stamina, vitality and regenerative abilities, kind of like the Angels. But from what he could tell it's partially sealed. He had cut himself by accident quite a few times when cooking, which probably wouldn't happen if his body's hand-eye coordination would just grow up already, and it didn't heal any faster than it did in his old life. Then there's the fact that he's actually getting tired annoyingly quickly, probably due to the limits of his younger and still developing body. The only thing he noticed that's noticeable that can be attributed to it is that he has _never_ gotten sick, _ever_ in this new body.

The second ability he has is **Exterminator of the Lilin** and he has to admit while it has come in useful he didn't like the ability at all, not one bit. For one the name reminded him way too much of his old foes and lastly he doesn't like the ability itself.

It gives him a boost when fighting human opponents.

While it has come in handy when stopping people from picking on his sister he just couldn't feel comfortable with the ability. He had grown some pride in his old role as an Eva pilot over the years and it kind of spat on his pride as a past protector of humanity to have an ability geared to fighting them.

Then there's the ability that he can seemingly understand any language spoken or written and can speak and write any language with no trouble. He had discovered this nameless ability by accident when he was writing his battle with the Third Angel down on his notebook for his novel when he accidentally started writing in German when he thought of Asuka. It had taken some getting used to but even he had to admit it has been extremely useful.

He had always sucked in English class, seriously why would he need to learn that when he lives in Japan? But now he will never have to worry about it!

Still he didn't come here due to those, he came here to practice with one of the gifts Lilith had given him, the one he can actually use.

Finding the bench at the centre of the park and after making sure he's alone he puts his bag down on the bench along with his sweater. After taking out a tennis ball he fished his phone out of his pocket and set a timer, he doesn't want to stay too long and leave Shizuka waiting for her big brother.

Shinji threw the ball into the air and held out his right hand and the ball fell…and landed just above his hand before bouncing back up, hitting a light blue hexagonal barrier.

He couldn't help but smile and let out a small childish laugh at that. Having the ability to generate an AT Field of his own just felt so…magical.

And what child wouldn't be happy with the ability to perform honest to god magic? Or something close enough to it.

' _Time to play…er practice,'_ he thought as he bounced the ball up with his AT Field again.

* * *

Kaoru Sayanomiya walked into the park more than a little bit annoyed, seriously she knows she's the heiress of the Sayanomiya clan, one of the greatest magical families in Japan but did they have to rub it in all the time? It seemed like her parents wanted to marry her off every week.

She couldn't help but sigh as she walked into the park she had asked her driver to stop beside on a whim; she really needed to just sit down and re-

Kaoru froze in place as she felt…magic being used nearby, the thing is she couldn't recognize it. She listened…well it's quiet so whoever it is they aren't fighting.

Eventually after some thought she let her curiosity get the better of her and followed her senses. As a Hime-Miko of the History Compilation Committee she thinks she can held whoever or whatever it is long enough for her guards to come get to her, even if she is still quite young.

Reaching a clearing she saw…well not what she expected.

Standing or more like running around the clearing is a child with chocolate brown hair looking like he's having the time of his life playing keep-up with a bright green tennis ball and a strange hexagonal blue barrier. He projected it on the palm of his hands and every now and then over the top of his head and feet as he ran around the clearing with a smile on his face and she couldn't help but shake her head in amusement.

If her clan's elders were to see someone using a gift as 'sacred' as magic to play a game she just _knew_ they would have a stroke.

She couldn't help but smile at the kid though, probably only a year or two younger than herself. Magic had always been a part of her life as a Hime-Miko of the HCC, it had always been an everyday thing, something she had been aware of since she was young.

How could she have ever have found something as amazing as _magic_ an almost boring everyday occurrence? How could she have lost the child like whimsy the boy had in doing doing what most people would consider fantasy dull? When had she started considering magic dull?

Still, she couldn't help but wonder about the kid's magic, she had never seen anything like it and eventually she decided to introduce herself.

"Hello," she greeted and the kid whirled around in surprise.

Shinji just stared at the…person that came out of the tree line and he internally cursed his young body's absolutely terrible attention span. His mind raced, he knows magic isn't wildly known about in this world so what should he do? He doesn't know anything like hypnotism and while he could try to kill them he knows he can't bring himself to do that. While he won't hesitate to kill someone under certain conditions he had spent a life fighting for humanity, he won't just kill someone because someone saw him experimenting with his powers.

The person looked to be around two or three years older than him. They had a beautiful face and they had red hair that reached their chin, a rare hair colour in Japan, and grey green eyes. They are dressed in a boy's school uniform of a white short sleeved shirt, a red tie, black trousers and brown shoes. Shinji's eyes told him that the androgynous youth may be a boy, a beautiful boy yes but a boy none the less but Shinji's instincts told him otherwise. And considering how he'd learned to trust his instincts…

Shinji swallowed nervously, "H-hello."

Kaoru put on a reassuring smile, "calm down kido, I know about magic too. Your secret is safe with me."

"T-Thank you…"

"I have to say though I've never seen magic like yours before. Where'd you learn it?" she asked with honest curiosity. As the future head of the Sayanomiya family she had met and seen quite a few mages from other Asian countries and even a few from Europe and his barrier resembled nothing she had ever seen. For a moment she thought he may have been a Heretic God but his magic didn't feel divine to her, powerful for his age yes but nowhere near what she imagined a Heretic God or Campione can dish out.

"I taught myself," Shinji admitted with a hint of pride, teaching himself had not been easy. With no Eva to help learning to generate an AT Field himself had been hard and resulted in a great _many_ crippling headaches. "I just did it one day by accident a few years ago and have been practicing by myself ever since."

Of course he'll keep the fact that it had been a gift from the mother of humanity from another plane of existence a secret, he still knows that's probably not normal.

"Oh, do you have a goal? A dream for your magic? Maybe to be a hero of justice?" Kaoru joked.

Shinji shook his head, "nothing so grand. I just want to be able to protect those who I care about. I…I-I don't want to be powerless when someone I care about is in danger."

Kaoru couldn't help but smile warmly at the kid. She had debated whether to recruit him into the HCC, a new form of magic will be a great boon for them but decided against it. She could see it in his yes that his wish is sincere, he cared for his loved ones greatly and involving him in the HCC would just take him away from those loved ones.

That and she just knows the elders would pressure the poor kid into an engagement with her, the prospect of infusing a new magic into the Sayanomiya clan would prove to be too good to pass up. Damnit they are _both_ still kids, they did not need that right now.

"Ah," Kaoru snapped her fingers, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kaoru Sayanomiya, heiress to the Sayanomiya clan."

Shinji bowed respectfully, "Shinji Kusanagi…uh first born child of the Kusanagi family."

Kaoru couldn't help but be amused, the kid obviously had no experience greeting people of high social stature, which suited her just fine.

"Why are you here?" the boy asked and broke her out of her thoughts. "O-oh! Not to sound rude Sayanomiya-sama. Just curious, no one comes around here."

' _Ah so that's why he practiced here,'_ she thought and made a mental note of the park, a good empty and quiet place for her to get away from the headaches of her role as heiress. "And what's with the sudden formality?"

"W-well you sound so important…"

"Please, call me Kaoru or something like that. It's nice to talk to someone that's fine acting casual around me. It's a breath of fresh air Kusanagi-kun."

And she meant it, it felt nice to talk to someone who doesn't expect you to act a certain way and talks to you like a normal person.

"Ah, then please call me Shinji, Kaoru-nee, I don't like being called by my last name all that much."

Which is true, Shinji hated being called by his last name. In his old life he had almost always been referred to as 'Ikari' or 'Pilot Ikari' or something along those lines. While he may have a new last name now he still felt more attached to his first name, it didn't help that his birth parents are two people he almost couldn't care less about.

Kaoru blinked in surprise, "how did you know I was a girl?"

Shinji shrugged and blushed as he told her what his instincts told him, "y-you're too p-pretty to be a boy."

"Oooh? Are trying to flatter me Shinji-kun?" she teased him, enjoying seeing him blush. Ah, she always did love messing with people, although messing with a boy while cross dressing is new.

Shinji shook his head with gusto, "No! I-I'm a bad liar, so I just told you what my gut told me!"

"If you say so," she teased with a grin. "And to answer your question, just relieving some stress. My Parents keep bugging about some…things. Sometimes I just want to be a kid you know?"

Shinji nodded, he could see the wariness on her face and he could understand wanting to be a kid again.

Then he got an idea, why not indulge in something he had never done before?

Play with another kid.

"Why don't you play with me a bit then?" he said as he threw the ball up and caught it again. "There's still some time before I have to pick up my little sister."

Kaoru blinked again in surprise. She had been so used to being treated like a girl far older than her age due to her role as heir that she can't even remember the time another kid asked her to just…be a kid.

So she couldn't help but smile, "sure, why not."

And so for the first time in a long time Shinji Ikari, now known as Shinji Kusanagi, acted like a child once more.

And so for the first time in a long time Kaoru Sayanomiya acted like a child once more.

The two children played and played in the park, finally acting their physical age until they both were too tired to continue.

"You know," Kaoru started as she sat down on the bench and caught her breath, "I haven't just played like that in a while."

"Yeah," Shinji moved his things aside and sat down beside his newly made friend, "me too."

The redhead rose an eye brow at that, "really? I thought you taught yourself, you made it sound like you came from a non-magical family. Am I wrong?"

Shinji shrugged as he kicked his feet, "I have to take care of my sister, my mom is too busy working and flirting with men all the time so I have to do what she doesn't. I have to clean the house, go grocery shopping, cook, clean and do the laundry." He looked up at her and smiled, "so I had fun today too."

Kaoru had to supress a frown at that, her life may be busy but she at least had plenty of people that served her family to take care of day to day worries. He's what, nine or eight? He shouldn't be doing the job of a parent.

Instead she just smiled and patted the younger kid on the head, "you'll be a hell of a man when you grow up. Well how about I help you out?"

Shinji tilted his head in curiosity, "help me?"

"Yup," she nodded as she took out a slip of paper and wrote a phone number and handed it to him. "This is my cell number. If you ever need to practice magic give me a call and I'll get set aside some time and we can meet up. I can set up some wards to keep normal people away and don't worry I'll keep your secret to myself. In exchange we'll hang out like this after, just be…us. I think we both need that right?," she said with a bit of a grin.

"I…think that sounds good," Shinji accepted it with a smile before his phone's alarm started to ring. He fished out his phone, shut off the alarm and pocketed his new friend's number, he'll add it later. "Sorry Kaoru-nee, I have to go pick up my baby sister."

The ten year old cross-dressing heiress smiled and hopped off the bench, "come on I'm due back soon but I can at least drop you off at your sister's?"

"Pre-school."

"Right, I'll have my driver drop you off at your sister's pre-school, I can at least do that much. I'll feel bad if your late because of me, come on."

And on that day, unknowingly, Kaoru Sayanomiya made contact with a Devil King.

 **Next- Chapter 1: Red Devil**

 **AN**

 **Before anyone asks or complains Shinji has more Authorities than what's revealed in the following fact sheet.**

 **Shinji's Revealed Authorities:**

 **Exterminator of the Lilin**

A passive authority granted for killing Sachiel, the Third Angel

As Adam and his offspring strived to usurp the Earth from Lilith and her children this authority grants Shinji a boost to his abilities when facing human enemies, including other Campione.

Incantation: None

 **Fruit of the Messengers**

A passive authority granted for killing Sachiel.

Adam and Angels birthed by him possessed the Fruit of Life, a limitless energy source that grants them infinite power and immortality. In turn this authority grants Shinji increased regenerative abilities, vitality and stamina.

Currently most of the authority's power is sealed by Pandora.

Incantation: None

 **The Lance of Longinus**

Given to Shinji by Lillith, the Second Angel (with the help of Pandora) as a reward for defeating the children of Adam.

Ability: ?

Sealed by Pandora

 **Shinji's ability to generate the** _ **blue**_ **AT Field is NOT an authority and does not compare to the power of an authority. Instead it's along the lines of powerful mortal magic.**

So here it is! If anyone reading this was around when I first started writing on the site, back when I still haven't done a single crossover, I did a survey and Campione! Was by far the most popular choice.

It took some time but here it is!

The beginning bit of this chapter, covering Shinji's death, is actually something that came up when I was discussing the original NGE Anime with a friend and fellow fan.

Isn't it kind of crazy that SEELE and Gendo's plans revolved around trying to break Shinji? Asuka's death serves a purpose as the catalyst, what drives him over the edge of despair and into insanity but isn't that plan insane in and of itself? Who in their right minds centres a plan the actions of a broken child? Shinji could've done ANYTHING in his state of mind, he's not thinking clearly anymore.

So we thought, wouldn't it be interesting if instead of giving up he instead tries to take as many people as he can with him? Hence the birth of HOW Shinji will die for Pandora to meet him, that's what actually delayed this story all these months and that discussion birthed the idea, thank my nameless friend!

As you people will note the relationship between Shinji and many characters will be different from Godou's relationship with them. This should be more apparent when we see more of Shizuka next chapter and when Shinji will finally meet Erica and Lucretia. But already I want to paint that Shinji and Shizuka will be _very_ close, with Shinji taking it upon himself to be the parent she doesn't have and of course his open hate of his mother and loathing of his father.

Shinji is a very different person than Godou with vastly different life experiences and I really want to play with that and how he interacts with characters.

Anyway see you all next time!


	2. Red Devil

**Chapter 1: Red Devil**

 **Tokyo, Japan**

"GAH!" Shinji startled awake.

*Hah* *Hah* *Hah* *Hah*

His breathing was ragged and he felt a little sweaty.

The now sixteen year old Shinji looked around his room erratically and breathed a sigh of relief as he confirmed he wasn't in his closet of a room in Tokyo-3.

"Fuck..." he murmured as he massaged his brows and sat up with a sigh. "Stupid 12th Angel," he murmured.

Out of all of the Angel battles that was the one that still really haunted him the most to this day due to the sheer horror of slowly dying in LCL, cold and alone. Shinji shook his head clear, not exactly the best morning but he often suffered from various nightmares anyway so this was just another normal morning for the former Third Child. He turned to the alarm clock and wasn't surprised to see it was, as Asuka would have probably put it, 'early as fuck.'

He had always been an early morning person.

He stretched as he stood up and walked out of his bedroom, closing the door with a quiet 'click.' He listened in the hallway in the second floor of his house and heard nothing so walked to his little sister's room and opened the door quietly, thanking that he had lubricated the hinges as it opened silently. He peered inside and smiled when he saw his sister sleeping, he was afraid he had woken her up with his scream.

Shinji closed the door behind himself and went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and washed his face before going back to his room to change into exercise clothing. He still remembered what he was like back in Tokyo-3 and he had to agree with Asuka.

He was absolutely pathetic, scrawny and lacking in any drive.

So when he had become old enough to do so alone, which was still quite young thanks to the local yakuza always watching out for him, he had taken to running every morning. It helped keep him healthy, helped him get his blood pumping and help him getting energized for the day which he really needed with his constant nightmares. Plus he had read that exercise helped with your mental health and considering his past and how he couldn't really go to a psychiatrist about it he took every step to help himself, like his writing, his music, etc.

Idly he noted that he always had to work himself harder than he thinks most people would have to even feel a bit tired.

Now dressed in a pair of black shorts and a black track jacket with violet stripes he grabbed his cellphone, a pair of earphones and walked downstairs and put on his light blue running shoes. After lacing himself up he opened the door and took a _deep_ breath.

Shinji just stood there for a moment, eyes closed as he enjoyed the cool early morning spring air. Even after living in this new world for the last sixteen years he still couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of having four distinct seasons in Japan. The cool and refreshing spring and fall, the familiar heat of summer and his favorite, the cold bite of winter.

He still remembered the first time he was old enough to play in the snow, one of his most treasured memories to this day.

He plugged in his earphones into his phone and cued up some rock music, classic rock music from the 80s and 90s. He had heard Asuka listen to them from time to time, usually when she was psyching herself up before going into her Eva. While he still preferred classical music he had to admit that Ludwig van Beethoven isn't the greatest choice for a work out.

 _'Should have a good hour,'_ Shinji estimated as he looked at the time on his touch phone, something that was never around in his world. That meant he would run for 30min and then just run the way he came which would take the same amount of time. Judging from the time that should leave him enough time for a shower before having to start breakfast.

With a smile on his face the former pilot of Unit-01 and the youngest of Pandora's children set off on his morning run.

It wasn't always a walk in the park but life was good.

* * *

A now twelve year old Shizuka Kusanagi woke up and yawned as she sat up in her bed and stretched.

She looked at the clock, "7am…*sigh* I don't know whether to be mad at Onii-chan for turning me into a morning person or not."

While she was never one to wake up energized early in the morning ever since she was a small child she had been trained by her Onii-chan to wake up early in the morning.

How you may ask?

Why by cooking such ridiculously good breakfasts that's how. If she wanted to have her older brother's ridiculously good cooking at its best she had to get it when it's fresh and that meant she had to wake up early and over the years it just became a habit. She can't even remember the last time her Onii-chan had to wake her up.

What she did wonder though is did her Onii-chan do it on purpose?

' _No use thinking about it,'_ she thought as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and reached over to switch off her alarm clock. She had never actually had to be woken up by the alarm but she had to agree with her brother, better safe than sorry.

Shizuka looked around her large room and smiled when she the sunny weather outside, at least her walk to school will be nice enough.

After hopping out of bed, fixing herself up, showering and changing into her uniform she headed downstairs to the kitchen. She couldn't help but smile half way down the stairs as she smelled a very familiar smell in the early morning hours at the Kusanagi household.

Her brother cooking in the kitchen.

It's something that's routine but she always made sure to appreciate it, her brother had taught her to enjoy the simple things and not take them for granted, a lesson she took to heart.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs she turned left and into a small room that housed nothing but a small shrine. In the middle of the humble shrine, near some incense is a portrait of her now deceased grandmother, Chiyo Kusanagi who had died four years prior.

Shizuka bowed in respect like her brother had taught her in front of the small shrine, "good morning grandmother."

This was a part of the household morning routine, her brother probably already have done so after his run. After rising from her bow and sending a smile to her Grandma she headed to the kitchen.

Stepping inside she could see her brother wearing the 'KISS THE COOK' apron his friend Kaoru had bought him as a joke for his last birthday as he tossed the fried rice in the wok with practiced ease. Shizuka walked up to her beloved brother and embraced him, burying her face into his back, while her brother isn't especially tall he still towered over her, not that she minded.

"Good morning Onii-chan," her voice came out muffled due to her speaking into his shirt and Shinji couldn't help but chuckle. Shinji set his cooking utensils aside so he can turn around and give his precious baby sister a warm hug and a pat on the head, a sort of morning ritual for the two siblings since Shizuka was little. Idly Shinji wondered if he spoiled and babied her too much but just mentally shrugged it off, he enjoyed ensuring she lived as best a life as he could give her.

"Good morning imouto," Shinji warmly said before he went back to cooking, "breakfast is already on the table."

"And Grandpa?"

"He left on that trip of his remember?"

Shizuka blushed in embarrassment, obviously she wasn't fully awake yet if she made such a simple mistake.

As she sat down her mouth watered at the simple breakfast in front of her, a simple western breakfast of sausages, eggs and toast but she knew better than to think it would be sub-par. Her brother just didn't do mediocre when it came to cooking, even the sausages were home made she knew. Oh he wasn't a _perfect_ cook, he experimented from time to time and sometimes the outcome was mediocre, or even more rare, bad but he insisted on only asking for input with dishes he had already tasted and passed himself. Actually, she didn't even know if he had ever fed her an 'average' meal before.

Shinji reached over to the counter where a bottle of wine and a half full wine glass sat, glad his Grandfather is fine with him drinking, picks up the glass and takes a sip as Shizuka ate. He smiled, it really helped dealing with the nightmares and bad memories that _still_ haunted him sixteen years later. While drinking may not be the best answer to everything it worked for his problems, legal drinking age be damned. _'_

 _Is this why Misato-san used to drink so much?'_ he couldn't help wonder, it also helped he had grown to actually _like_ the taste of alcohol...except beer, he never did grow to like it. He blames Misato and memories of her drinking habits.

He turned to his sister stuffing her face with gusto and wondered, _'how can Shizuka-chan eat so much and never gain weight? What kind of crazy ability is that?'_

Currently Shizuka is dressed in the Jounan Academy girls uniform. Her uniform consists of a white and blue sailor uniform top with a light tan button up vest, a light green ribbon (denoting her status as a middle schooler) tied around the collar, blue skirt and black leggings. In comparison her brother's uniform consists of a white long sleeve dress shirt, black dress pants and a black gakuran button up jacket, which is currently thrown over one of the chairs at the dining table.

Shizuka now styled her hair with a bun on either side of her head, fixed in place with pink hair bands. Shinji on the other hand had let his brown hair grow out a little bit, tying it at the back into a small pony tail with a black band, making him resemble a younger Kaji from his old life. He also now wore a pair of rectangular black half-framed glasses with rectangular lenses, though they didn't do anything. They were initially gifted by Kaoru as a joke when she found out he was writing a novel to make him look the part of a young writer. Shinji had taken a liking to them though as he had never received any gifts from his friends in his old life and had worn them every day since.

Shizuka looked at her Onii-chan as she finished her meal. She masked her frown with her glass of orange juice as she observed the boy-no the young man who had, pretty much, raised her in the absence of their mother. While she didn't mind her mother's busy schedule, unlike her brother, she would never deny how much her brother had done for her. Which is why she found herself frowning as she watched him enjoy wine so early in the morning, people his age shouldn't drink at all!

And her brother drank somewhat often too, seriously she can't believe her Grandpa, how can he let her brother get away with that?

But what made her worry is that whenever he drank a lot, more than his usual glass or two, he always had a…troubled look on his face. Thankfully it looks like this time he's going to stop at just one, probably just wanting to enjoy the drink.

In a lot of ways she compared her brother to famous artists and musicians, a lot of them were troubled people, people who suffered and hurt and expressed themselves in their art. She had read her brother's novel 'The Beginning of Evangelion'…well she's still reading through it. Honestly she found it difficult to read through sometimes because there are some _messed up_ things in his book, along with some difficult language. That worried her, was he trying to say something in that book? She had seen him do his paintings, always being related to his book, so there's obviously a story to it. Then there's his music, whenever he played on the piano…he never seemed unhappy as he played, far from it but she always found his music…somber and kind of sad.

Is something hurting him on the inside?

Grrrr, she really wished she would grow up faster. It irked her, not understanding her brother and what may be making him unhappy.

Even in his dreams he seemed to be troubled. While it doesn't happen every day, he did sometimes wake up in the middle of the night screaming from nightmares.

She always wondered, how can he always smile for her? Every time he saw her he smiled and she knew it wasn't fake, it was too honest, too warm and full of love. How could he be so happy? To her knowledge her brother only had _one,_ that's right ONE friend.

His childhood friend, a cross-dressing girl named Kaoru Sayanomiya.

Shizuka he had actually been against his friendship with the older girl when Shizuka met her, how she played with the feelings of girls with her good looks reminded Shizuka too much of her Grandpa! She did not want her dear Onii-chan to be a womanizer like her dear Gramps but when she had seen the two playing together she had let it go. Kaoru made her Onii-chan happy and in the end that's all Shizuka wants.

Still, she wished her brother had more friends. Hell, maybe even a womanizing Onii-chan would be better than the so called 'Melancholy Prince' of Jounan Academy. She hated that nickname and how the the girls of Jounan preferred to just admire him from afar. Even some of her classmates liked to gossip about what could be troubling him. That pissed her off to no end, the way they talked about her troubled older brother felt...wrong. They talked about him like some fantasy character, someone you can wonder and think about but never reach. Sure he may be aloof at times but she knew her brother is just as human as anyone else. He cried when their grandmother died, enjoys talking with his best friend, wants a pet, gets scarily angry when people pick on her and smiles when he sees people enjoy his food.

She sighed, really, what a troublesome brother she has.

"Shizuka-chan?" Shinji called out to her as he started to put together his and his sister's bento boxes. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no. Jeez Onii-chan," she pouted with a glare, "don't baby me!"

Shinji just smiled, he really did spoil her didn't he? Well he didn't mind, aside from his Grandpa and Mama Pandora she's the only family he has now. She's the family he never had and he wanted her to live the life he never could...until his rebirth. He knows what's it like to live an empty childhood, like hell he'd let Shizuka live anything resembling the life he had lived.

…Well there's also his…ugh, mother but he hasn't seen her in a while so she's out in his books.

And if _anyone_ messed with his sister? He wouldn't hold back in putting them in their place.

"If you say so," and Shinji went back to work preparing the lunches.

"So," Shizuka started, "are you looking forward to that trip to Sardinia?"

"Well," Shinji replied without looking up, "I'm only going to give that weird stone tablet back to Grandpa's friend right? Then come back."

"Onii-chan!" she smacked her hand on the table and suppressed an 'ouch', she didn't need her brother's babying her to ruin her momentum, as she glared at her brother. "Chiyuki-san arranged a private jet for you and a hotel! Enjoy yourself! That's an order!"

What she wanted to add was, _'you almost never do anything for yourself!'_ but she decided to keep that to herself, he would just wave it off as his 'duty' as her family. While she sometimes found her brother mysterious she knew Shinji found great happiness in his family and would do anything for her.

In all honesty that grated on her _almost_ as much as her Grandpa's womanizing stories. Her brother had given up so much for her. He always cooked whatever she wanted, he cleaned the house, he would pick her up from places when she was younger and never hesitated when she wanted to go somewhere or wanted to see a movie. When his book was published three years ago and exploded in popularity he had bought a bigger house, complete with a backyard, all because she mentioned wanting more space.

She had been half joking back then!

The biggest sign of her brother spoiling her is the refrigerated glass display in their kitchen which her brother always kept full with homemade deserts whose taste and appearance rivaled anything a any chef can produce. That was her most recent birthday present, she loved her brother's sweets but even she thought that was overkill!

The only thing he had bought for himself with the money was, basically, a brand new kitchen and a car. When he turned sixteen in January and gotten his license he bought both a car for family use and a car for himself.

Still she was happy he bought _something_ to celebrate the success of his book. She still remembered when he had first driven home in that white sports car of his, big stupid smile on his face, the only time she'd ever seen him with a dumb grin. So rare an event that was that she had taken a picture to forever preserve the moment.

"Alright," Shinji said as he nodded and hummed in thought, "I _had_ always wanted to visit Europe."

Although he had to admit he wants to visit Germany specifically, Asuka had made it sound like the most amazing country ever.

*ring* *ring* *ring* *ring*

Hearing his phone go off he fished it out of his pocket, thankful that whoever it is timed it so that he finished making the bento boxes.

He smiled when he saw the number and answered in a humble voice full of false respect, "good morning _Sayanomiya-sama_."

His smile turned a little mischievous as he could almost hear his childhood friend twitch in annoyance, she _hated_ when he called her that.

Ah, seems like his mischievous cross-dressing friend rubbed off on him didn't she?

"… _don't_ call me that! *ahem* Anyway, good morning Shinji-kun. I know this might be sudden but is your sister in the room?"

Shinji looked up, "no, she just left to make sure her books and stuff are in order." He looks at the clock, "I'll be leaving for school soon though. Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, I just wanted to talk to you before you leave for your trip to Sardinia tomorrow. I mean I _know_ you're going to miss me aren't you?" she teased while hiding the reason she asked about his sister. Kaoru knew Shizuka only tolerated her because Shinji liked being around her so much. She did not want to hear her friend's sister's annoyed grumbling so early in the day.

"Of course I'll miss you," Shinji answered truthfully, missing the teasing tone in her voice.

"…"

Shinji raised a brow, "Kaoru-nee? Hello? Still there?"

"Y-yeah! S-still here! *ahem* J-Just checking up on you, that's all. *sigh* Anyway I have a meeting with some of the other clan heirs tomorrow so I can't call you before you leave so I'm calling now. Excited for the trip?"

"Yeah, Shizuka-chan already asked me. Ordered me to enjoy myself, how can I say no to that?"

"Fufu, you do need to loosen up more."

"What's with today? People ganging up on me," Shinji grumbled as he finished his wine and went to put away the bottle. "I think my life is fine, thank you very much."

"Hahaha," came a laugh from the other side. "Be safe though okay? How long are you going to be gone again for? A week?"

"Five days."

"Close enough, you'll need to owe me once you get back so don't do anything stupid while you're there."

Shinji smiled, he knows what she meant. Ever since they first met all those years ago their meetings had become a regular weekly occurrence, every Friday. They no longer played and he didn't practice his magic as often but they always met up unless something kept them. Mostly they use it as a chance to unwind. Kaoru venting about her troubles in the magical world and him venting about the stress of trying to raise his younger sister or talking about whatever they have on their minds.

"Of course. I'll just see some of the sights, enjoy the view of the ocean and taste some of the food. No jumping in volcanoes, promise," he said with a smile, _that_ in his opinion is still the dumbest thing he had ever done. Oh he had no regrets saving Asuka, that part he would never regret as he saw it as one of his greatest moments but it had been a stupidly reckless action regardless.

"Oh, _ha ha_ ," she laughed dryly before teasing him, "and steal some recipes right?"

"…" Shinji blushed in embarrassment, "I prefer the term ' _borrowing_ and improving'."

"Ha! _Right_ , whatever lets you sleep at night. I look forward to tasting whatever you _borrow and improve_ when we meet up again then."

"I aim to please."

"That you do," she said before her voice turned from playful to concerned and serious. "Hey, just reminding you, don't use your barrier magic okay? I don't think the magical societies of Europe will be as nice or as lenient as me. With me keeping you a secret from the HCC I can't do much if they try and forcefully recruit you."

"I-is that something they do in Europe? Recruit people forcefully?" he asked nervously.

"Fufu, no not really, I'm just messing with you," and Shinji's brow twitched at that, damn joker. Then her voice grew serious again, "just be careful though okay? I can't help you if something does happen."

Shinji smiled, he didn't have many friends but his one friend is a damn good one, even if she liked to mess with people. "Understood. Anyway, I need to get to school. I'll text you when I arrive."

"Right, I'll respond as soon as I can. Take care, bye."

"You too," and Shinji hanged up before shouting, "come on Shizuka! Let's go!"

* * *

 **Island of Sardinia, Italy**

Shinji really had to wonder if he had his priorities straight. Right after leaving the small airport where the private jet his Chiyuki-nee had chartered for him Shinji had landed he didn't go looking for his Granpa's friend. No, instead he had went to the local market in search of fresh seafood. That had been something he had never got to use back in his old life. The warming of the oceans caused by Second Impact had killed a lot of the fish species in Japanese waters. Pair that up with the supply problems that racked Tokyo-3 during the Angel War and Shinji had never had a chance to use fresh seafood.

So of course he had prioritized buying ingredients for dinner ahead of his real reason for coming to Sardinia in the first place. His hotel room had an amazing kitchen and with the market so close by it seemed a shame _not_ to go and get first pick of the day's catch.

Well, Shizuka and Kaoru _had_ told him to enjoy himself right? Man he looked forward to cooking dinner tonight.

After dropping off his groceries and luggage he had finally decided to go along with his task, carrying the tablet in a messenger bag.

...Sadly, even though he used to be a professor, his Grandpa's handwriting is borderline unreadable. Idly he was almost sure that the tentacles of the 4th Angel could hold a pen better than his Grandpa's hands, he looked down at the note his Grandfather had left him...absolute chicken scratch.

So as he wandered the city, dressed in a simple grey shirt, olive green light jacket, black jeans and grey skater shoes he called his sister on his phone. He had hoped his Grandpa was home so he can clarify the directions he was left with but, alas, no such luck.

"Huh?" Shinji murmured as he walked, "there aren't any train stations around here though."

"Sorry Onii-chan," his sister replied, "but I don't know when he'll be back. He went out drinking with his friends tonight."

"And left you alone?"

"No, stop worrying, you'll get an ulcer. Chiyuki-nee is over."

"Make _sure_ you don't let her in the kitchen," both Kusanagi siblings shivered at the memory of when the, then yakuca princess now yakuza boss had once tried to cook a simple dinner when they were all younger. Shinji had faced many fearsome opponents in his previous life. He had faced a creature that went against common sense, having a two-dimensional 'body' and a three-dimensional 'shadow', a creature that even to this day Shinji wondered could even be considered _living._ Hell, he had faced a massive flying crystal-blue diamond shape-shifting particle canon that _vaporized_ half a mountain in it's own passionate attempt to wipe him and Rei out of existence.

Yes, he had faced monsters and had known fear.

And he would, with no hesitation, face any of the Angels again before even thinking about fighting...whatever the hell Chiyuki had created all those years ago.

"I understand Onii-chan," his sister replied resolutely.

"I see, that's good," Shinji sighed in relief, replacing a kitchen is easy with the money he has now but he couldn't replace his sister. "I guess I'll ask around, someone's bound to know something."

...Wow that was probably the most laid back Misato-like idea he had ever had.

"Someone? Onii-chan do you even speak Italian? Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine," Shinji reassured her, "I do speak Italian, fluently."

"…" Stunned silenced followed and he didn't blame her. While he had the 'Language' ability he had only displayed English and Japanese with the occasional German around his family.

"Anyway, I'm going to hang up now. Be a good girl for Onii-chan."

"I will! And remember _have fun."_

Shinji sighed as he hung up, it's not like he _tries_ not to.

* * *

"It's official, I used up all my luck when I died and managed to be reborn," Shinji murmured in frustration as he stared out at the sea. It had been another hour and it's now the afternoon and he still hadn't found where he needs to go. With a sigh he shook his head, he'll just call his Grandpa later after dinner, he should be back by then.

For now though he's in Sardinia and he _will_ enjoy it.

Which is why he's currently walking along the waterfront, choosing to avoid the beach to keep the sand out of his shoes and just walked along the boardwalk. He couldn't help but be in a little bit of awe at how…alive this world is.

So beautifully, wonderfully and spectacularly alive. His old world had been so…dead, most animals and half the world's human population had died. Even the sea, in all its vastness sometimes seemed empty. He still remembered, after the battle with the 6th Angel, standing on the flight deck of the UNS Over the Rainbow as he and Asuka just stared out at the ocean and what the ocean looked like.

It was beautiful yes, serene even but looking back now he can't remember ever seeing one sign of life. No schools of fish, no dolphins, no _anything._

Here though?

Here he could see life. Sea gulls gliding overhead, fishing boats out at sea, and the market had been filled to the brim with the morning's fresh catch.

He couldn't help but feel if he needed to die in this world to save it he may do so willingly, if only to protect its life and its beauty. Just the _thought_ of his little Shizuka growing up in a world as dead as his old one...it gave him chills. He would never let that happen.

It also made him a tad lonely.

It's hard to enjoy one's vacation or trip or whatever his little excursion had become alone. No Shizuka clinging to his side, no cross-dressing redhead that always made Shinji feel comfortable.

But most of all he missed the people of his old world right now.

He missed Rei, the odd quiet girl that he had always admired for the strength she had, quietly persevering in her task as an Eva pilot. Never had he heard her complain.

He missed Misato, the woman who like Mama Pandora, is the mother he never had. She was busy and lazy and a slob and a drunkard…wait where was he going with that again? Oh right, that even if she was all those things she still tried to care for him, to give him some semblance of a normal upbringing even if she obviously didn't know what she was doing in hindsight.

And Asuka, the girl who he loved and hated all at once. The girl whose strength he admired even to this day, the memories of her fire the standard he tried to set for himself now.

He wished they were all here, in this beautiful living world.

"You guys would have loved it here," he said to no one with a bittersweet smile.

And with that the lonely boy walked, he would enjoy this world not just for himself but for all those who couldn't be here with him.

* * *

Eventually getting tired the brown haired boy sat down at an outdoor cafe and ordered himself a drink. Enjoying the taste of expertly made coffee and the feeling of the refreshing breeze coming off of the Mediterranean Sea.

Feeling curious Shinji took out the tablet he had been sent to deliver and looked it over.

"Man this is a weird tablet," Shinji said to himself. "I can't help but get a bad vibe from it."

It was an old thing, ancient, not surprising considering his Grandpa's field back when he was a professor. Still for the life of him Shinji couldn't tell what made it special other than being really damn old.

He finished off his drink, left what he owed with a substantial tip and was about to get back to his hotel room to rest after all the walking he had done when he heard a female voice call out to him in Italian.

[Hey, you over there!] Shinji looked up to see one of the most beautiful women he had ever met, and that's saying something. After knowing Rei, Asuka, Misato and his childhood friend Kaoru that's saying something.

She seemed to be around Shinji's age and of average height with Shinji being only a bit taller than her, he had never been the tallest person around after all. She had flawless skin, beautiful pink lips, long golden blond hair that flowed past her hips with two black ribbons on either side of her face. She also had a generous figure for her age...or for any age really.

But what really caught him though are her eyes, her striking blue eyes that reminded him painfully of a certain red head but he managed to catch himself and suppressed a cringe. He could see it there in those sapphire orbs, her fire, her courage and her confidence.

He would be lying if he said he didn't feel like a moth hovering in front of a flame right now, she was _beautiful,_ breath taking.

The girl wore an expensive looking low cut red dress with black accents and black frills and detached sleeves. It showed off her generous figure well while remaining elegant, showing enough to attract attention but not enough to be tasteless. She also wore a black and white ribbon around her neck. All in all she's the stereotypical fiery Italian beauty Shinji had always imagined.

Then she pulled out a knife on him and Shinji's thoughts on the girl's beauty slammed into a wall. The fight or flight instincts he had honed on the battlefield of post-Impact Japan, for the first time in 16 years, reared its head once more, his mind coming up with multiple ways to fight and to win. He suppressed a frown as he felt **Exterminator of the Lilin** activate, while he could at least be happy she's human, he had heard stories from Kaoru of spirits once, he still didn't like the ability.

Still, he didn't want to kill or even harm her and he's pretty sure this is a misunderstanding...hopefully. While he actually hadn't lost any sleep over killing any of the hundreds and perhaps thousands of human soldiers during the event he had dubbed 'The Siege of Tokyo-3' he didn't look fondly on the memory either. So he really hoped this wouldn't escalate.

[Hand over that grimoire immediately] she demanded as she held the knife in front of her.

Shinji blinked at that before he responded in Italian too. [W-what? Grimoire?] Wasn't a grimoire a book? He didn't even bring a book with him to Sardinia!

The girl though just thought he was repeating her words in confusion. She looked at the foreigner, he looked Japanese to her, well luckily enough she did speak that language.

"Do you not understand Italian? Fine then I'll ask again in Japanese. Hand over that grimoire immediately."

Shinji frowned, he _did_ speak in Italian but he didn't correct her, if dealing with Asuka and Misato taught him anything about strong willed women its that its better to _not_ antagonize them needlessly.

"Are…you trying to…rob me?"

…

Well Asuka had always called him a Baka and after hanging out with Kaoru for half his life her love of messing with people had rubbed off on him. He just couldn't resist, he just hoped he wouldn't get stabbed for it. If he did he'd blame his childhood friend.

Still he had to admit her reaction to the accusation was totally worth it. Her face showed an expression that's a cute and amusing mix of incredulous and embarrassed while an adorable amount of pink dusted her cheeks. Honestly if he didn't think she'd gouge out his eyes for it he would've taken out his phone and snapped a picture.

"M-mugging?! How rude."

She seemed to almost pout at him and he resisted the urge to pinch her cheeks to see if she would get even more flustered.

…Damn he blames Kaoru for this, maybe Shizuka was right and she is a terrible influence?

"Hurry up. I'm a knight of the Copper Black Cross, do you _really_ think I wouldn't notice?"

Shinji blinked in surprise, "knight?"

He looked at the girl again, no armor, no sword or…anything knightly on her. He wouldn't judge her for her gender, he knows women can kick ass, Asuka being case number one for him but…did knights in the traditional sense still exist? He cursed not asking Kaoru more about European mages or their titles and ranks. Kaoru called herself a Hime-Miko and she never acted like the priestesses he knew about. Is this girl a magic user too? Is knight a similar title to Hime-Miko?

*RAAAAAH!*

Shinji and the girl both flinched as a roar erupted from somewhere dangerously nearby and Shinji felt the air…shift. It became heavier, like the very air wanted to crush and destroy him.

But he and the girl still stood and both looked towards the sound of the roar and saw a sight that brought back memories of days and battles gone by to the ex-Third Child.

A giant.

A monster.

A massive boar the size of a building emerged from the ground and roared again and Shinji couldn't help but stare at it as _something_ inside him thrummed to life.

It felt awake and excited and Shinji couldn't help but feel the same way for some reason. He felt no fear for he had faced more than this but he couldn't help but feel excited as well for reasons that escaped him.

Shinji shook his head, knowing from previous experience he needs a clear head to live through this. He has no Evangelion to protect him now, he's small, soft and squishy.

"A heretic god?" the girl beside him muttered.

"A what?" Shinji asked.

"It doesn't matter. Go, get out of here, run!" having warned him the girl went off sprinting past a red four-door sedan. "Arriana, lets go!" she hopped on top of the car and they sped off towards the rampaging boar.

"Fuck!" Shinji shouted in frustration as the girl went off towards what Shinji's instincts told him would be her death. Flashes of a red head appeared in his mind. Of how she screamed and _screamed_ until she couldn't scream anymore as the 15th Angel raped her mind. How the life and fire that once shown so beautifully bright had almost been snuffed out. How that gorgeous girl had just lied in bed, in a coma, almost dead to the world. "FUCK!"

Shinji took off into a spring in their direction, he didn't care if he'd die trying but damnit he's not going to run from this! He won't let something so beautiful be snuffed out by some… _monster_ again! So with fire in his eyes he ran.

An image of a blue haired girl flashed in front of him. He remembered her sacrifice, how she died because he was too useless to do anything.

"Damnit not again!" pushing himself harder he ran after the unnamed blond, not noticing a blue haired youth clad in white robes and a light grey cloak hovering above him.

"Well well, aren't thou brave? Thou art interesting, young warrior," the youth spoke with a smile.

* * *

Shinji looked up as he finally caught sight of the brave if foolish young woman as she stood on top of a building. He had noticed she had changed her clothes somehow. Gone is the dress and in its place she wore clothing more practical in a fight but no less stylish. She wore a form fitting black long sleeved top tucked into a pair of form fitting dark grey pants held up with a brown leather belt and high cut brown leather boots with a red and black striped shoulder cape around her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Shinji murmured as he watched.

The girl lifted her right arm up in front of her, hand open and a complex magic circle flashed into existence in front of her. The circle glowed brightly in red and pink and the symbol of a rose appeared in the middle. Magical energy came from the circle and Shinji could sense it, whatever it was it was powerful Shinji knew. Whatever she was doing he could feel the energies of the world bending to the blonde's will. Kaoru had once commented that Shinji's magical senses are extremely sharp so he knew whatever she was doing was powerful. But what could stop a god? He remembered her saying something about a heretic god.

But the more important question that came into his mind was, _could_ _she_ stop a god?

Any further thoughts were cut off when she started her chant.

" _ **Lion of Steel and he who begets you, the Lionheart**_ ," more magical energy burst forth as a head of a lion made of steel emerged from the circle, jaws open and to Shinji's amazement she reached inside it. " _ **Heed the oath made by Knight Erica Blandelli!**_ " Then she pulled her arm out of the beast's maw with flare and pulled out a beautiful sword as the lion head and the circle vanished, " _ **Cuore di Leone!**_ "

Shinji watched amazed and somewhat curious at the display of magic, he had seen Kaoru's magic before but all she had done was set up wards to keep mundanes away from their meetings. He had never seen Kaoru pull a sword or anything out of thing air before and he idly wondered if there was a Dirac Sea involved, if he remembered his debrief correctly it connected to everywhere and every _when._

The ex-Third Child then turned his attention to the young woman's blade, it was a flawless sword, a true masterpiece of the art of forging steel. The sword, Cuore di Leone he guessed the name was, had a long slender blade and an ornate but minimalist guard that shone in the sun like silver while the handle is wrapped in rich blue leather. If Shinji had to guess it was a rapier from the thin and elegant blade shape that seemed to be maximized for thrusting, that said he didn't doubt the blades edge is still perfectly capable of cutting better than mundane steel.

He doubted magical swords need to be controlled by the laws of physics to the same extent that normal swords are.

"Yah!" with a cry she struck, sending a lance of red magical energy at the giant boar.

But it wasn't enough as it struck a shining gold barrier whose magical energy made the girl's impressive show seem like a fly compared to a dinosaur to Shinji.

"I knew it," he heard her speak, "it's a divine beast. The god's plan to start a fight here."

And she attacked again with more force.

Shinji briefly wondered what the hell a divine beast is or why gods would fight before removing them from his mind. He could ask about them another time, he'd ask the girl later if they both still drew breath after this.

After all he had never wondered nor really cared why the Angels came before, as long as they're dead then the problem is solved.

"Now how do I kill that boar?" he wondered to himself, the thought of that being something that may be impossible for him never even crossing his mind for some reason.

"Kya!" the girl screamed as the boar charged at her, the explosion from her failed attack that had once again been foiled by the barrier blew her back, out of the way of the charging boar but into the space between buildings.

Right over the alley where he stood.

"FUCK!" Shinji cursed for what felt like the umpteenth time today as he dashed forward. He needed to catch her but catching her at ground level wouldn't do anything, she'd knock him down and the sudden impact may cripple them both. Well it would cripple her for sure, he would probably just regenerate since **Fruit of the Messenger** had become more and more powerful as he grew up.

Then he got an idea, remembering a trick he hadn't used in years ever since he and Kaoru had stopped playing magical keep up.

He used his At Field and projected it slightly ahead of him horizontal to the ground and above it, followed by another and another one as he climbed, creating an impromptu stair case.

"Gotcha!" he couldn't help shout as he caught the girl and absorbed some of the force with an 'oomph'. He leaned back to help bleed off more energy but he miscalculated and fell off his shimmering blue platform. He shifted mid-air to place himself between the ground and the girl and landed on the ground with a loud thump and a sickening crack. Luckily they weren't too high up.

Unluckily he had landed on a pile of rubble and he could feel warm blood leaking from the back of his head, his back is sore and he could taste the iron of blood in his mouth. A small part of him also noted the feeling of his now smashed phone in his pocket, oh well that can be replaced, the blond knight's life cannot.

Panting from all the running and excitement he looked at the brave knight in his arms and he sighed in relief, she's breathing okay and other than a few scrapes and being unconscious she seemed fine. He's in much worse shape, his head is ringing and his vision is starting to spin. Still he was surprised, he should be hurting a _lot_ more from that fall. He felt like he would be okay in just an hour or so, aside from pain nothing serious had been done to him.

He shook his head, he can still see the boar rampaging, he needs to get her out of here!

Then he felt it inside him, as if answering his needs he felt **Fruit of the Messengers** ability unlock a bit more than before and he could feel himself healing his minor wounds faster than his already impressive rate did previously.

*step*

His head snapped to the side and saw a boy around his age. He wore white robes and a grey cloak. He had pale skin, emerald green eyes like his sister and dark blue hair.

But what set Shinji on edge is the feeling the youth gave off. His magical senses _screamed_ that this boy is dangerous, more dangerous than the boar. His blood felt hot as his heart pumped faster, his instincts telling him to stand his ground.

He couldn't help but give a slightly insane smile at that before he shook his head, the knight is his priority and he has to remind himself that as his adrenaline flowed.

With a groan he sat himself up before putting the girl down behind him as gently as possible before he stood up. He got into a hand to hand fighting stance.

Oh he knew it was futile, he hadn't figured out how to use his AT Field offensively and he just somehow knew that power wouldn't be enough anyway. His blue barrier lacked the power of the ones produced by the Evas and Angels.

And this kid was on the level of the Angels, and he isn't, not right now anyway.

But still he'll stand his ground, fuck running away, he became tired of that years ago and somehow he had the feeling that if they came to blows he wouldn't do as badly as he thought he might. He had jumped inside a volcano without specialized D-Type equipment, he had destroyed an army, he had stood against _nine_ Evangelions and won! He-Shinji shook his head, he's not here to start a fight, even if he felt he could somehow win it. He wants to protect the self-proclaimed knight, starting a fight would be against that particular goal.

Then Shinji noticed the youth held a stone tablet that seemed really familiar, he looked at his messenger bag and saw that it had opened during his fall, he bit back a curse. If that thing gets destroyed he wouldn't know what to tell his grandfather.

"Does this belong to thee?" the youth asked and the ex-Eva pilot noticed a strangeness in his speech, Shinji understood him thanks to his ability to understand any language but he couldn't name the dialect being spoken.

"It does," Shinji answered, honestly surprised at how calm he sounded. Then he remembered he had broken long ago and understood, he was never normal, not even since the day he was reborn. "Who are you?"

"I am the Victor. I am the strongest and that which will defeat every enemy."

Shinji raised a brow at that, "quite the bold statement."

The youth smirked, "Perhaps. In truth, I don't think it's necessarily bad to have a taste of defeat."

"Humility is good," Shinji nodded, idly noting how he's calmly conversing with something his senses told him is a complete monster. Then again his top priority is keeping the girl safe. If this...thing wanted to have a pleasant chat then he'll happily chat away. "Besides, how can you improve if you don't know what you lack?"

"I have heard humans say that. So, I tried to revive the king of the ancient gods, in order to fight them, alas I have yet to be defeated." The boy then turned to the blonde behind him and Shinji moved to cover more of the girl, the youth just smiled in response. "Art thou willing to face me to protect that witch? Thou art willing to die for a stranger?"

"I have died for less," Shinji shrugged, which is true, his first death had been because he had enough of…everything really. Now though… "To die in defense of someone like her, someone who stood her ground and fought, who showed valour in the face of an enemy she obviously had no chance against…yes I will. For a person more deserving of life than myself I will fight and die."

The youth smiled, what an entertaining mortal. As a god of war and victory should he not reward such a brave warrior? He looked at the boy and hummed in thought, he...felt strange. His presence was more than that of a mortal man, more than even most people who have descended from divine blood but he felt less than what he would think a Campione would feel like...interesting. Then he saw _something_ in the human's eyes, something even more interesting. They were the eyes of someone who had bathed in the blood of his foes, of someone who had fought and seen true war, true violence.

"Ha…ha…hahaha…HAHAHAHAHA!" the youth laughed, "Yes, yes I see it now. You are a good warrior, I see it in thine eyes. Thou hast gained victory over great foes hast thou not?"

Shinji frowned, "I'm a warrior?"

"Hahaha," the youth laughed good heartedly. "Thou need not be so humble, for I know. I see it thine eyes, the look of someone who has seen great bloodshed, who has felled his enemies and relished in victory! Blood has soaked thee, it is ingrained into thy being. I approve, honourable warrior."

The youth set the tablet down and started to walk away but he stopped after a dozen or so paces, looking over his shoulder he spoke.

"Take the tablet young warrior, you may keep it…regard it as a sign of my favour. I expect much out of thee. Perhaps thou will show the Victor the defeat he seeks?"

"How do you know we'll meet again?"

The youth smiled a serene smile, "because destiny calls for it and because I sense a hint of something in you that calls for it. Do not disappoint me when we meet again, warrior."

A massive tornado of wind surrounded the boar and with a flash of light the boar and the monstrous youth vanished.

"I'd prefer the term soldier really...and I'm retired now as far as I know," Shinji sighed and looked over at the blonde knight and sighed again. "Now…what should I do with you? Asuka always called me a Baka and I guess she's right. My plan never went pass saving the girl…"

* * *

Erica Blandelli opened her eyes.

"Ungh" she groaned, she felt sore all over. She blinked a few times and stared at the ceiling in confusion.

She remembered facing a divine beast and…not being able to do anything.

She should be dead.

Then why the did she feel so comfortable? Soreness aside of course. Did her maid Arriana come get her? She sat up, absently noticing how nice the bed felt. She threw the sheets off of her and blinked in surprise.

Her clothes had been removed and a few scrapes and cuts had been bandaged and probably cleaned. She must have been hurt by the divine beast worse than she thought if Arriana did all that and she didn't wake up.

Looking around the room she saw a white bath robe neatly folded at her bedside and threw it on herself, giving her some modesty, and tied it at the front. She walked out of the bedroom and noticed that Arriana had managed to get them a _really_ nice hotel room, probably at the other end of the city away from the boar's path. She scanned the room and froze when, at the kitchen with _his_ back facing her is not her maid but a familiar looking back of a young man.

Erica tensed, ready to call her sword to her side.

Shinji of course noticed she had awoken and decided to break the ice, "did you find the bathrobe?"

"Y-yes," the knight couldn't help but blush a little bit at her state of dress.

"Are you wearing it?"

"Y-yes."

Shinji sighed in relief and turned around letting the pasta cook as he leaned back on the counter. Seeing her in nothing but a bathrobe made him blush a bit so he made sure to make eye contact and _not_ let his eyes wonder. He swore he can still feel the sting from the _titanic_ slap Asuka gave him on the Rainbow, and he had no intention of something similar happening. That said though wasn't that Asuka's fault? Why would you wear a _dress_ on something as windy as the deck of an aircraft carrier at sea? Shinji shook his head, he didn't want to make the knight upset by ignoring her.

"Are you ok?" the boy asked Erica and the knight was surprised at how…soft his voice sounded, she hadn't really paid attention to the small details when they first met. He had a possibly dangerous artifact after all, so she was on edge. Now though she got a good look at him and she allowed herself to relax, he obviously had no hostile intent.

And she had to admit he was quite good looking. He had a kind looking face that was handsome in more a 'cute' way than a 'rugged' way, he had longish chocolate brown hair tied into a short ponytail that gave him a bit of a roguish flair.

But what really caught her attention were his eyes. He had heterochromia with a steel blue right eye and instead of the usual green or brown his left eye is instead a ruby red. They were beautiful and she was struck by the sincere concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine. A little sore but I'm fine. I can heal the rest soon enough with magic," she reassured him. She could have lied but after what he saw and how he seemed to have helped her…her honour as a knight demanded she at least not lie to him about something so minor.

"That's good," Shinji smiled, "when that boar sent you flying I caught you but you didn't wake up for a few hours so I got a little worried. It's almost time for dinner."

Erica nodded before looking around, "where is Arriana?"

"…sorry, who?"

"My maid," Erica crossed her arms around her chest, "didn't she change me out of my clothes?"

Shinji just blushed bright red and looked away and after a beat he spoke quietly, "…I-I…I ah…I'm the one that…changed you…out…of your…c-clothes…"

"WHAT?!" that pervert! Erica moved to slap him but to her surprise he caught her, "you pervert!"

"I did what I needed to!" Shinji answered, his face red from embarrassment and frustration. Seriously, why did people always say that to him? Asuka had said it all the time but what the hell had he done? It's not like he _wanted_ to look…well he did, he is a teenager and she is a beautiful girl but not in the way she may be thinking! "You were _hurt_ and you needed to be looked after. I have a _sister_ , I will never treat you or any woman inappropriately."

He let her go and she stepped back. The boy sighed before bowing, catching Erica off guard.

"I'm sorry if I treated you inappropriately," he rose from his bow, "but I had no other alternatives."

"I f-forgive you."

The boy stood up and smiled and Erica couldn't help but blush a little bit.

"Good. Now I think I should introduce myself. I'm Shinji Kusanagi from Japan. I know about the existence of the supernatural world but have no real knowledge about it."

"Erica Blandelli, member of the mage association known as the Copper Black Cross, I hold the rank of knight."

Shinji blinked, "I see. Uh, well I would wash up now if I were you." He gestured at his room's bathroom, "I've laid out some of my clothes for you that you can borrow. Your clothes are intact, I've sent them to be washed by the hotel staff."

Erica nodded and went off to the shower and when he heard the door click Shinji let out a breath. He had never been good with girls…well except Kaoru but he had known her for so long any nervousness had long since disappeared…and Shizuka but she was his sister. Other than them he doesn't have any real experience with women in this new life.

It didn't help that Erica had held him at knife point earlier today, not exactly the best first impression for either of them.

It also didn't help that Erica is totally his type, strong willed, brave and with a bit of attitude. Want him to charge head long at a giant boar monster? Sure, with good reason he won't run away from danger anymore. Fight off a god-like being unarmed in defense of a girl he'd never met? Sure, better reason to die than the last time but _talk_ to said girl? Yeah, no, not as easy.

He looked out the window at the night sky and murmured, "…why do I have the feeling that if Mama Pandora is watching she's enjoying herself right now?"

* * *

Erica walked out of the bathroom of the bo-no Shinji's she corrected herself- hotel room feeling _much_ better. She smelled and felt clean and she didn't feel sticky with sweat. She had healed her injuries as well and other than some muscle fatigue and the drain on her magical reserves she felt fine now, if perhaps a little hungry. She's now dressed in a simple white shirt that's too big for her and a pair of grey shorts, not exactly her style but considering she faced down a divine beast on the scale of that boar and came out fine she's not complaining.

She leaned on the door way as she dried her hair with a towel while watching Shinji cook. It actually made her smile in amusement. On his face is an honest smile as he worked his magic, she found it kind of cute, he obviously liked what he's doing. When she first spotted him with the grimoire he had a frown on his face and when he wasn't smiling at her earlier he had a slight frown on his face, with his big eyes he reminded her of a puppy that had been hurt by its master.

That smiling face suited him more in her opinion.

"Having fun?" she teased and Shinji flinched, too lost in his own little world to have noticed her finish her shower.

"I am," he answered with an embarrassed smile, "I've never cooked with such fresh seafood, these were caught just this morning. Have a seat, dinner will be ready soon."

Erica did so and made herself comfortable, he had all the chance to do something to her and he didn't. He seemed honourable and as a knight she respected that.

"Here you go," Shinji served, "seafood pasta."

Erica blinked it looked good, _really_ good, almost too good to eat. "Are you a chef?"

"Ah ha ha no," Shinji laughed awkwardly with a mild blush. He only cooked for his family, Chiyuki and her group on occasion, and a bento for Kaoru when they met up every week. While they always appreciated his cooking skills, especially as he got better over the years, hey usually just showed their enjoyment instead of complementing him nowadays. Honestly he much preferred that as he still hadn't gotten used to getting praised. "I've cooked for my little sister ever since we were little so you can say I've just gotten really good with practice. I've never made anything like this though, I hope you like it."

Erica tried some and froze. She looked at the plate of pasta with stars in her beautiful blue eyes.

By the gods, if she didn't know any better she would have thought Shinji had a cooking Authority but he obviously wasn't a heretic god and there are only six Campione in existence so that couldn't be. The pasta had been perfectly cooked, the tomato sauce was light as not to overpower the shrimp and shellfish, which are all perfectly cooked as well.

"…D-do you like it?" Shinji asked hesitantly, a little worried as his guest just froze.

She nodded, liked it? "It's the best thing I've ever had."

Shinji smiled and blushed a bit. "I bought some wine earlier today. I don't know about you but after today I can use a drink"

* * *

Erica leaned back and gave a happy sigh, she had just had the best dinner of her life. She took a sip of wine and appreciated the smooth flavour. It looks like her host also had good taste in wine as well. She did have to wonder how he had the money for this though, she recognized the wine bottle and she knew it wasn't cheap and even the hotel room was top notch.

Shinji had a small smile on his face as he enjoyed his wine, he hadn't bought a lot earlier today, just one bottle. He would like to have more to drink after the stress of today and the painful memories that flashed into his mind before he went after Erica but he had to admit it felt nice to share a drink with someone. In fact he thought the wine taste better with someone to drink with and Erica was better company than his grandfather who got annoying when he overdid it.

Still Shinji had questions, especially if the blue haired youth from earlier will appear again.

"Erica-san I have a question."

"Hm? Well I guess I can gift you some of my knowledge," she smirked.

"What was that…thing, the boar? You said a something about a heretic god."

Erica blinked in surprise, she had not expected that question. "…it's a _god._ "

Shinji supressed an annoyed twitch at the look she was giving him, like he was the idiot here…and considering he ran straight into danger without a clue as to what the danger was she may have been right. Still, in his opinion it was a perfectly reasonable decision.

That said he made sure to pay attention, sensing a connection to the chant Pandora had said before he had been reborn.

What was the line again? Something about the sacrifice of a god being part of the conditions right? He really cursed that newborns couldn't write, he couldn't remember her exact words anymore, not after so many years.

"As in a real god?"

"Yes. A heretic god that brings disaster to the world. A god that has rebelled against and broken out of their legend, descending into the mortal world. They have existed since time immemorial and cause disasters of different kinds depending on their legend. A sun god can cause a drought; a god of the sea can cause typhoons, etc. Most normal humans tend to see them as natural disasters but people with magic can see them for what they are."

"I see," Shinji massaged his temples. _Of course_ he would be sucked into fights with god like beings _again_ because fuck normalcy.

Well at least they weren't aliens.

"Do you really not know that much? Heretical gods are basic knowledge in any magical organisation."

"I don't belong to any organisation," Shinji shook his head. "My best friend is a Hime-Miko of the History Compilation Committee back in Japan. I know _of_ magic but I'm not knowledgeable on anything much past that."

Erica frowned, "magic is supposed to be kept secret from the mundane world."

Shinji leapt to the defence of his friend, ignoring Kaoru's warning about not using his magic. "I know it's a secret." Shinji picked up his wine glass and generated an AT Field over his left palm and placed the wine glass on top.

Erica watched in surprise as Shinji placed the wine glass on his palm only for a blue hexagonal barrier to shine to life, supporting the glass above his palm. While magical barriers aren't rare Shinji's blue barrier didn't feel like any mortal magic she knew about to her supernatural senses. Most importantly there was no prayer, no words of power or any chant, it just...happened.

"I can do magic too," Shinji explained as he took the glass and finished his drink. "I can only make barriers like this and do some basic hypnotism, which she taught me, but that's it. She promised to keep me a secret from the HCC to protect my way of life so I'd appreciate it if you kept this a secret too."

The blonde knight looked at him and after a moment nodded, "I see this is an important secret for you. I will keep your secret safe unless you turn out to be a danger, I swear on my honour as a knight."

"Thank you."

"I have a question though."

"Go ahead," Shinji nodded.

"If you don't belong to any magical organization why do you have such a powerful grimoire?"

"Ah I'm guessing you meant the tablet?" Shinji scratched his cheek, "I came to Sardinia to deliver it to someone. A friend of my grandfather lent it to him when he was younger and he thought it time to return it."

"Who are you delivering it too?" Erica raised a brow to that.

"Um," Shinji fished the note of instruction from his pocket, "someone named…Lucretia Zola?"

"Lucretia Zola?!" Erica started in surprise, "the great mage? The Witch of Sardinia?"

"Y-yes? I don't know much past her name. If I remember correctly she met my grandparents in Japan when they were younger," Shinji couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of his Grandma's story. "Grandma Chiyo didn't like her very much since, apparently Lucretia-san had a thing for my grandfather. She was afraid Grandpa would cheat on her for Lucretia-san and forbid him from meeting her ever again."

Erica couldn't help but stare at Shinji incredulously, "t-that explains why you're here then I suppose. *ahem* Fine then, I shall accompany you, I'll contact my maid later and we can leave tomorrow afternoon."

Shinji nodded, "I know, I had a feeling you would say that."

"Y-you did?" Erica blinked in surprise while cursing internally about how often the boy had caught her off guard in one day.

Shinji nodded with a knowing smile, "you're too good a person to let something dangerous be. I saw that earlier today when you told me to run while you tried to fight the boar and I can see now how much you take your role as a knight seriously. So I won't insult you by telling you not to come. Instead I'll thank you for helping someone as clueless as me. Even if you did threaten me with a knife."

Erica just gave him a cute and innocent smile, "Knife? Me? I don't remember that happening."

Shinji just sighed, why did he have to have a knack for meeting troublesome women? And why are they always so attractive? He can't even be mad at the blond, life is unfair.

* * *

 **Early Evening, the Next Day**

Down a rural road on the Italian island of Sardinia the sound of a roaring engine can be heard and if one were to concentrate hard enough they may be able to hear the faint sound of screaming.

The sound emanated from a dark violet 4-door luxury sports sedan, a Maserati Quattroporte GTS barreling down the road at high speed.

...Driven by one Shinji Kusanagi, thankful that his yakuza ex-babysitter turned had arranged such a nice car for his use during his trip.

Seeing the mansion Erica had told him the witch lived in he put his plan in motion. With the ease of a professional race car driver he yanked on the hand break and cranked the wheel, sliding the car in a high speed drift that ended in a perfect parking job in front of the gate.

Quickly turning off the engine and hoping out he turned around to see Erica and her maid Arriana stumble out of the front passenger seat and rear passenger seat respectively. They looked a little pale which he thought was strange, did they suffer from motion sickness?

Erica took deep breaths just like her friend and maid is currently doing. She looked up to see Shinji totally fine and couldn't help but wonder, _'who the hell taught you how to drive?!'_

Misato had taught Shinji and Asuka how to drive during they stay at Tokyo-3 in case of emergencies and they had to race to HQ themselves and he's pretty sure she would have been proud of his parking job just now.

Erica had thought her maid was bad at driving but Shinji, the kind but somewhat melancholy boy, had (and she's pretty sure) brought her closest to death since…ever. Oh sure he didn't hit anything like her maid tends to but at least Arriana stayed at the speed limit and while Shinji had never hit anything he seemed to avoid collisions by just the _tiniest_ of margins.

And she was pretty sure their average speed had been around 150 kilometres per hour, scary considering they weren't the only ones on the older narrow roads.

"Hmm. I don't think I've seen any of you before," a female voice asked and all three turned to see a talking black cat.

While Erica and her maid weren't fazed Shinji had to blink a few times before he just sighed. Why is he even surprised about the existence of a talking cat? He had seen that gods are real, met a real life magical knight, and in his previous life he lived with a penguin that sometimes read the newspaper and watched TV.

"We are here for a delivery Lucrezia Zola-sama," Erica answered, "from a Ichirou Kusanagi."

* * *

"Sorry about that. I shouldn't be lazy just because I can use magic," she said and Shinji and Erica couldn't help but hear how…unapologetic her apology sounded.

Erica stood in front of her, dressed in her red dress again. Shinji stood beside the young knight wearing a black long sleeved shirt with a white cross design over his heart, grey jeans and black and red sneakers. In his arms, being held with great care, is the same black cat from earlier that he now petted lovingly. Even without her master controlling her the cat is quite intelligent and Shinji had taken a liking to her, making him ponder if Shizuka would be ok having either a cat or a penguin in the house.

He really missed having a pet.

That said Shinji couldn't help but blush at the woman lounging on her side in front of him. If he had to describer her with one word it would be 'sensual' as everything about her dripped sex appeal, even her voice. She has a slim figure with…generous assets that could turn an angel (the biblical kind of course) to sin, flawless skin, long light brown hair and mesmerizing violet eyes that Shinji had trouble _not_ looking at. Which may have been for the best considering she wore very little, just very showy purple lingerie. Shinji couldn't help but gulp when he first saw her.

Erica just stared at the woman with a tad bit of annoyance at her lack of clothes and obviously lewd appearance.

"You look very young," Shinji couldn't help but comment.

"Oh?" Lucretia gave him a mischievous smile, "Like what you see boy? You don't seem too surprised though, I assume you're Ichirou's grandson?"

Shinji nodded with a blush, "my life is…far from normal ma'am, I was surprised at first but I just assumed...magic."

Lucretia Zola looked at the boy, _really_ looked at the boy and smiled internally at what she saw in his eyes, they were the eyes of someone who had seen far more than most at his age has. _'Far from normal indeed.'_

"Fufu, want to see what else I can do with my body _and_ my magic?" She teased and smiled when Shinji blushed harder so she positioned herself so he could get a better look at her body. She couldn't help it, the boy was adorable and oh so very amusing. "You can look you know, while it's cute you're trying to be as gentlemanly as possible I might end up being offended."

"Lewd," Erica muttered at Shinji which just caused him to sigh, this isn't his fault! Why must he like the type of women who causes him headaches?

"Oh don't say that," Lucretia said, "I think it's adorable, his blushing face, don't you agree?" She then picked up the tablet, "The Secret Book of Prometheus huh? Ah, how nostalgic."

"Prometheus?" Erica asked in surprise.

"Mhm," the Witch of Sardinia hummed as she looked at the tablet and slyly smiled as she looked up at Shinji. "Tell me boy, did you meet anyone on your way here, someone memorable?"

Shinji slowly nodded, "I did. He called himself: The Victor."

"And what did he say?"

"…He gave it to me and told me he was letting me take it," Shinji said slowly, "as a sign of his favour."

Erica gasped, it was clear to her that he had met a heretic god, which made her curious, what did he do to earn his favour? Especially if it's who she thinks it is…

Lucretia raised a brow in curiosity, wondering exactly the same thing as Erica but deciding to pop the question.

"What did you do?"

Shinji stole a glance at Erica before sighing and looking at Lucretia again, careful to control his eyes so they don't wonder.

"When a giant boar, a divine beast rampaged Erica-san tried to stop it. She ended up getting blown off a building. I caught her but ended up hurting my head. When I was recovering someone came, The Victor, and my senses screamed he was dangerous. I knew I couldn't carry Erica and escape and she was knocked out so I got up and stood my ground."

Lucretia smiled, "you'd fight a heretic god unarmed?"

Shinji gave a self-deprecating smile, "I told him that protecting someone brave, someone like Erica is worth fighting for."

"…You really mean that don't you? You would have fought him to the death for her."

Shinji nodded, a little uncomfortable at all the attention.

"HAhahahaha!" Lucretia laughed before giving him a smile. Not the lewd or flirty smile she had given prior but a real warm one full of…approval. "Ichirou must be so proud of you. So young and already… _quite_ the man."

Shinji shivered at the tone she ended her statement in and started feeling like a piece of meat duck taped onto a kitten that had wandered in front of a hungry wolf.

Erica just stared at him, blushing and eyes wide in awe. He…he had done that…for her? He would have died for her?

"I'll give this to you then," Lucretia handed the tablet back to Shinji, "I have a feeling it may come handy to you in the near future."

Erica wanted to protest but for some reason couldn't find the words for it.

* * *

"I am so glad I didn't have more wine on hand last night," Shinji grumbled as he carried a drunk and sleeping Erica in a princess carry, noting how light she actually felt. While he had carried her to his hotel room yesterday with no trouble she felt even lighter now, how could he have gotten so much stronger in a day?

Shinji carefully opened the door to the room Lucretia had told him to let Erica sleep in and walked into the cozy and well-furnished room, closing the door quietly behind him. He sighed, recalling having to do something similar with Misato whenever she came home drunk after a night out with Dr. Akagi. Except he was smaller back then, being thirteen and unfit and Misato being heavier than Erica meant he had to drag her on the floor and couldn't carry her like he's doing now.

"Arriana, unzip me," Erica sleepily muttered before he put her on the bed.

"Fuck," Shinji cursed as he undid the zipper at the back of her dress, revealing Erica in her lacy white underwear as the dress fell to the ground. "She's _so_ going to kill me if she finds out about this."

He gently set her down on the bed, took off her high heels, before adjusting her to make her more comfortable before draping the covers over her, noting how cute she looked as she slept. Shinji shook his head and decided to take his leave before it got creepy and headed for the door only to freeze when the knob didn't turn.

Someone had locked it.

And he knew who it was.

"That mischievous witch," Shinji said, brow twitching, while promising never to let Lucretia and Kaoru meet. "L-U-C-R-E-T-I-A!" he angrily whispered.

* * *

 **The Next Morning**

"You pervert!" Erica screamed, gasping for breath as she stood, blushing like mad while covering herself with a blanket. She stood over a half-awake Shinji who had slept on the floor.

Well, he _was_ half awake...before she screamed and he had woken up fully.

"G-good morning?" Shinji squeeked.

"Go die!"

' _I already have,'_ Shinji thought with amusement. "What did I do?!"

Erica smiled a smile that was _too_ sweet for Shinji's liking. "While I trust you haven't done anything to my body, considering how you _did_ act like a gentleman when I was unconscious yesterday, you now have this unladylike image of Erica Blandelli burned into your retinas-"

' _Is that what she's mad about?'_ Shinji frantically thought, doing all in his power not to get slapped back into his old universe. He thought she looked fine, more than fine actually. With her hair a little messy, cheeks a tad bit pink, wearing nothing but her underwear and breathing a little erratic Shinji had to try _really_ hard to keep his mind out of the gutter...well more than it already is.

Damn his teenage hormones!

"I think you look fine! More than fine! You look stunning!" he screamed, hoping to appease the angry blonde.

Erica, caught flat footed, sputtered while blushing up a storm, "W-wha…what i-is that-"

*CRACK* *BOOM*

Both teens flinched at the flash of lightning followed by the crack and rumbling boom of thunder. Both looked outside and saw the sky had darkened and rain started to pour.

And something in Shinji started to stir once more.

 **Next- Chapter 3: The Awakening**

 **Shinji's Newly Gained Authorities: None**

 **Shinji's Newly Revealed Authorities: None**

 **Changes to Shinji's Authorities:**

 **Fruit of the Messengers:** Both due to the passage of time and in response to the appearance of the heretic god Shinji's other authorities are starting to fully awaken as his Campione nature is starting to fully manifest. **Fruit of the Messenger** is just the first to respond.

 **AN**

Well as many Campione! fans have notice I've taken more from the anime rendition of the Sardinia incident. Honestly I'm still working my way through the LNs, not an easy thing to do with writing other stories, my other hobbies and most importantly school. As a result I'll be using the anime and wiki as the primary source for several of the chapters and eventually I'll be using LNs and the wiki once I've fully caught up.

Also I just want to address a few things.

 **First:** If you leave a review and want a response PLEASE make an account so I can respond to you. Someone asked for Misato, or the Campione! universe's version of Misato in this case, and honestly I _could_ do it but I can't tell you that and I dunoe who actually READS my ANs. When someone asks me to do something or suggests something I tend to bounce the idea with them for a bit and I can't do that if you're anonymous/a guest.

 **Second:** I had some people take issue with Shinji's development as an irregular Campione and...well that's the thing, he _is_ an irregular Campione. Most Campione have killed a HERETIC god, born from humanity and our legends. Shinji has killed the Angels, the progeny of Adam, a Seed of Life, and are beings fundamentally different in that they are flesh and blood creatures independent of mankind. Coupled with the fact that Shinji's soul is from a different dimension and I do have to ask you to keep in mind this is a crossing of two entirely different lores and as such some things will be different. Once Shinji fully awakens as a Campione his abilities will be like all his siblings.

Now onto the chapter itself.

When writing this chapter I did actually look up what happened in the LNs to compare to the anime. While I didn't see anything wrong with following the anime style of the Sardinia incident I wanted to do it a bit differently. One I wanted to already hint at Erica and Shinji being attracted to each other. In the anime I always found Erica falling for Godou too quick as in episode one the bicker a bit and Erica doesn't like him seeing her in her underwear and in the first part of episode 2 she sneaked into his bed naked. Here I wanted to make it less jarring, Erica being impressed by Shinji's character and Shinji being taken in by Erica's strong personality and beauty.

I do kinda have to apologize for the cliffhanger but honestly if I included his awakening and the battle following I would be WAY over my chapter avrg of 10k words.

See you all next time!


End file.
